Thalia's Great Prophecy
by screamattheskyx3
Summary: AU. The time for Thalia's prophecy has come. And this time, it involves her idiotic, dense best friend and a new girl from sunny California.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: AU. The time for Thalia's prophecy has come. And this time, it involves her idiotic, dense best friend and a new girl from sunny California.

A/N: Hello, Internet-lonians! Here is the first chapter of my (hopefully successful) multi-chapter Percy Jackson story. -applause- Please leave a review of what you think and if you would like me to continue. Be honest; I'm not afraid of criticism as long as you don't rip my heart out. ^_^ Also, I'd like to mention that AU means that it's an alternate universe. There is no Camp Half-Blood, and the gods aren't real. There will be no monsters in my story or demigods or anything...or will there? You'll have to read and find out!

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is Bridgeton Academy...I think. I'm pretty sure it's fictional.

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1. I Lose the Ability to Think Straight

I stared at page 357; paragraph one in my math textbook. This was what we were learning today.

Math class: the number one most boring class in the history of classes. It was _so_ likely that I would actually use it in my life. When would I ever need inequalities?

Groaning, I averted my eyes to the chalkboard. I couldn't really understand the textbook because of my stupid dyslexia. It was a condition where you can't read like everybody else because you see words differently. It was a good thing I was never called on in English to "read the next page."

Today was a Tuesday, which in my eyes, was the worst day of the week. It wasn't Monday; it was Tuesday.

We were also supposed to get a new student today. From what I heard, she was a pretty girl from California with beach-blonde hair, and a killer tan. Her dad was a rich scientist/inventor and her mom worked at a fashion company. But those were the rumors, anyway.

I wondered why a rich girl like that would want to come to Bridgeton Academy in New York. Bridgeton was a private school for boys and girls, mainly the ones who got expelled from their other school for vandalizing or beating up another student. It was not a school for people to have a good time at and hang out with their friends. Here, it was life or death.

But occasionally, there were good people.

"Hey."

I looked to my right and saw my good friend, Thalia Grace. She had short, black hair and bangs that usually covered her face. Most people wondered what color her eyes were. But I knew; they were dark brown. Thalia wasn't the kind of girl who spent her time chatting with friends on the computer or shopping at the mall and I liked that. She was my kind of person.

"Hey." I nodded in response.

"Didya hear about the new girl?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"I just met her on my way in. She was completely lost, but I helped her and stuff."

"Yeah?"

Thalia nodded. That's when I noticed her bangs were out of her face and clipped up with a butterfly clip.

"Since when did you have that clip?"

"Oh." She blushed. "Yeah, when I met that girl, she gave it to me and said that I'd look better if I kept my hair outta my eyes. Then she said I was pretty."

"That was nice of her." I commented.

Thalia nodded again. "She seems really nice, and definitely doesn't seem like one of those ditzy, snotty, rich girls."

"We'll see." I glanced at the doorway.

"Oh, does Percy already have a thing for her?" Thalia smiled teasingly. She nudged me in my ribs. Thalia was back.

"Shut up. I don't even know her yet." I rolled my eyes.

"But you WILL. When you first see her, you'll be so entranced by her; you won't even be able to think straight. Second, you'll get lost in her eyes and you'll stutter like the idiot you are in your first conversation with her. Then you'll dream about her smile." Thalia grinned mischievously.

"What?!"

She continued, "Then you'll have to beg her for her forgiveness after you do something stupid. Last, you two will share a moment of utter silence. Then you'll make-up and kiss. BOOM! Instant love! Then you guys will ride off into the sunset on a unicorn." Thalia concluded with her index finger pointed in the air for dramatic effect.

I laughed. "Thalia, you are so _weird_ sometimes, y'know?" I shook my head. "I doubt we would ride off into the sunset on a _unicorn_."

Thalia shrugged. "I don't know where I get this from."

"Class, please find your seats!" Mrs. Dodds, our math teacher, said.

I watched as students shuffled to their seats and prepared for another torturous day of something everyone on the planet knew as 'school'.

"I think everyone knows now that we have a new student here at Bridgeton Academy. Please give a warm welcome to Annabeth Chase!" Mrs. Dodds gestured towards the door. Every student shifted in their seat to try and get a good look at the person standing at the door.

The rumors were right, I thought. This girl was--no, she wasn't pretty. That wasn't the right word. She was...gorgeous, stunning, dazzling, mesmerizing. Even those words weren't good enough to describe Annabeth Chase. She had a confident smile and she was tall. She had wavy, blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail and she wore an orange T-shirt and Capri's. Her eyes were a stormy shade of gray (which I actually thought looked cool).

"Everyone, please welcome Annabeth to our class." Mrs. Dodds instructed.

Most of the girls seemed excited and said, "Hi, Annie Beth!" I don't think they realized their mistake.

Not surprisingly, all of the guys forgot how to form a sentence.

I just stared down at my textbook, trying to figure out the first sentence. I heard Thalia say, "Hey, Annabeth!"

I tried hard to make out the first sentence on the page, but it was difficult. It usually didn't take me this long to decipher it. Why was my brain not working?

Oh, I knew why.

_"When you first see her, you'll be so entranced by her; you won't even be able to think straight..."_

Stupid Thalia; was she a fortune teller or something?

Hmm, what if we got married...?

STOP IT!

Annabeth Jackson...hey, that had a good ring to it!

Oh my God. How was I going to survive eighth grade now?!

My brain had just now decided to take a vacation in Hawaii, far, far away from New York.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here comes the second chapter. I'm really happy with all the hits I've gotten, but no reviews? Really? Is it that hard to just write "Great story" or "Good job"? Anyways, enjoy! Stay posted because the next chapter will be coming up shortly.

Disclaimer: -reads from a note card- I...don't...own...anything. OOH! I do own the secretaries at the office. Muahahahaha!

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2. I Meet Thalia Grace

"You'll do great, honey."

"But what if they don't like me?" I suggested, hoping my parents would buy that cliché excuse.

Of course they didn't. "Annabeth, one thing I know for sure is that you don't care what others think." My mom told me with a stern look.

"You need to face the world, with shoulders cocked and say, 'I am Annabeth Chase!'" I raised an eyebrow at my dad. Sometimes, I didn't know what went through his mind. But hey, he was family.

"Thanks. I'll pull through." I sighed and trudged through the doors of Bridgeton Academy.

The school wasn't as big as my old school, but it was still nice. The floors were sleek white and I saw lots of fliers and posters advertising school clubs and other extracurriculars. The lockers were all a dark blue color, so I guessed that the school colors were blue and white. I caught sight of a girl walking past me with a yellow Hollister shirt on. Didn't they design California-ish clothes?

I sighed again, missing Briarwoods Academy (my old school) and the whole state of California itself. It was unbelievably cold and I didn't pack warm clothing.

Honestly, I didn't _own_ warm clothing.

There were a few students here and there milling around at their lockers, but most were probably still on buses on their way to school. It was early, 7:24 AM, and classes started at 7:45 PM. I stood there in the middle of the lobby with my beige messenger bag slung over my shoulder and my schedule and other school papers in my hand.

A map! I thought. How was I going to find my way around without a map? Luckily, the office was only a few feet away. I ambled toward the office in pursuit of directions.

The office was hectic. Two secretaries sat at their own desks behind the tall counter, answering phone calls. Some other teachers came in and out to collect mail from their mail slot along the wall nearest the door. I observed some faculty members using the copy machines and writing out forms. Briarwoods Academy's main office was nothing like Bridgeton's.

"Excuse me?" I walked up to the tall counter, hoping to gain the attention of one of the secretaries.

Fail; everyone went about with their business and disregarded me.

"EXCUSE ME?" I half-shouted. Was it okay to shout in an office? I wasn't sure.

"Oh, Linda! Is this that new student?" A teacher spoke up.

"Yes, it must be!" One of the secretaries strolled towards me and smiled. She had short, light brown hair with streaks of gray. Her eyes were brown and seemed kind.

"Good morning." I said politely. "My name is Annabeth Chase. I transferred here from California." I recited from memory.

"Oh, yes. We have you marked down. What do you need?"

"I, uh, don't know my way around and--"

"Say no more." The secretary whipped out a map from who-knows-where and handed it to me.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Have any more questions or concerns and you're welcome to come to the office. Have a great first day!"

I smiled graciously and nodded my head. I pushed the door and found myself standing in the middle of the lobby again.

I turned the map right-side-up, but couldn't read the words.

Unfortunately, I had dyslexia. It was okay, I thought. I dealt with it most of my life. I was pretty good at decoding now when reading. Most dyslexic kids didn't (like reading), but I did.

However, I couldn't figure out the words labeling each room on the map. I felt stupid. This school was a lot huger than I imagined.

"Hey, you need some help?"

I turned around to find a girl with black hair and bangs covering one of her eyes.

"Yeah, it's just, I'm new here and--"

"I heard about you. I'm Thalia."

"I'm Annabeth. Nice to meet you.

"Likewise."

I took the butterfly clip out of my hair and clipped up Thalia's bangs. To this day, I'll never know why I did that. "There. You look pretty, Thalia."

She blushed. "Thanks, but don't you want your clip?"

"Not really. I've got tons more, plus they aren't really my style. I think it looks better on you."

"Thanks, Annabeth." She gave me a genuine smile. "So is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah, I need help finding my homeroom, but I'm having trouble." I intentionally left out the part that I'm dyslexic. She didn't need to know yet.

"Oh, that's okay. I was like that too when I first came here." Thalia seemed to pause, thinking back to her first day. "Who's your homeroom?"

"Mrs. Dodds." I responded.

"Me too!" Thalia exclaimed.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad. I was worried I wouldn't know anyone in my class."

"Well, it's this room right here." She pointed to a square on the map. "And you're here, so that means you have to go left and go to the very last classroom on that hallway." Thalia explained.

"That makes a lot more sense now." I scanned my eyes over the map again.

"No problem. Hey, you wanna sit at my table for lunch?" Thalia suggested.

I shrugged. What was there to lose? "Sure. Thanks."

"No problem." Thalia repeated. "So, I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah. You will." I waved, turning left.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: If you can't already tell, each chapter is in a different point of view. First it's Percy, then Annabeth. It will be like this for the rest of the story because I'm trying to practice writing for both of them and keeping them in character. Please leave a review after reading and tell me what you think. Are they in character or not? Constructive criticism is welcome. :) Oh, and one last thing: REVIEW! Wait, ONE more thing: Sorry for the short chapters. I promise that the next ones will be much longer...say Chapter 10-ish. Yeah, I'm already that far. YES!  
-Alice

Disclaimer: Just read it from the previous chapter, okay? Would I be here if I owned PJO?

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3. I Get Lost In Annabeth's Eyes

"Class dismissed."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I never thought math class would drag on that long. But since it was Annabeth's first day, she had to catch up.

And guess who Mrs. Dodds picked to help Annabeth?

No, not me--it was Luke Castellan.

Luke was the definition of your average good-looking, popular guy. And on top of that, he was actually nice; all of the teachers loved him and he helped the nerds who got bullied. Luke was just your everyday straight A student who was also somehow not interested in the opposite gender. Yet he flirted with them. The freak.

It went a little something like this:

"Luke, can you come here please?" Mrs. Dodds called.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Annabeth still needs to catch up to the others. Do you think you can work with her in the back row while the rest of us work with partners on inequalities?"

"Of course." Luke nodded.

"Excellent. Here are some papers." Mrs. Dodds handed Luke a packet of worksheets and notes on what we've learned so far this year.

Luke then sauntered to the back row of the classroom and pulled a chair up next to Annabeth. So now, he was to the right of Annabeth, while I was to the left of her. Thalia was sitting right in front of me.

"Hey, I'm Luke." Luke flashed his signature smile that made all the girls go crazy. Jerk.

"Hi..." Annabeth cleared her throat and sat up straighter.

"I'm gonna help you catch up to the rest of the class. Is that okay?"

"Y-Yeah, that'd be great!" Annabeth blushed and smiled.

"Cool." Luke flipped to the first page about integers.

"Okay, class, partner up!" Mrs. Dodds clapped her hands. "30 seconds!"

I mumbled something under my breath about Luke's sparkly magic powers and scooted my desk so it was next to Thalia's.

"I know what you're thinking." Thalia announced when we got our worksheets.

"What?"

"You're so jealous of Luke and Annabeth." Thalia smirked.

I snorted. "Yeah, right. Why would I be jealous of them?"

"You _love_ Annabeth, remember?" Thalia poked my arm. "You can't stand to see Luke helping her. You wish it was you instead of him."

"I'm not in love with her. I barely know her."

"Now you're in denial!" Thalia said in a sing-song voice.

"Can we just start this paper?" I said, gritting my teeth. I pushed my pencil onto my paper with so much force that it broke.

"Fine, fine." Thalia smiled. "I'll tease you more at lunch."

I rolled my eyes and got out my seat. I walked over to the pencil sharpener by the door. As I sharpened my pencil, I looked at the clock that was right outside our classroom door; 8:23 AM. That meant there were only eight minutes of class left.

I turned around to walk back to my seat and saw Annabeth waiting impatiently. I froze on the spot.

"Hey." She smiled.

It took me a while to form a reply. "H-Hey..." That's when I stared at her eyes. They were gray, a color I've never seen on a person before. It was unique, and I liked that. They were gray like the storms that come along on beaches and by the ocean.

"Hello?" Annabeth waved her hand in front of my face.

I blinked. "Huh?"

"Why were you staring at me like that?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

Great job, I thought to myself. What excuse could I possibly make up?

Oh, I'm sorry, Annabeth. I was just getting lost in your eyes because your eyes were an interesting color.

Pathetic, truly pathetic.

"Never mind." Annabeth rolled her eyes and stepped in front of me to sharpen her pencil.

I stumbled back to my desk and sat down.

"You got lost in her eyes." Thalia grinned.

"Shut up."

"I told you it would happen. Didn't I? I bet you stuttered when she asked you why you were staring at her. You did, didn't you?"

I nodded. "It was stupid of me."

Thalia stood up and did a little victory dance.

I groaned. If what Thalia was predicting was true, then I had better get ready.

Tonight, I would dream about Annabeth Chase.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Without further ado, here is the next chapter! Sorry if Annabeth is OOC; she's kinda hard to write sometimes. -sighs- Oh, well. Please review; constructive criticism is welcome. I'm happy with the response I'm getting for this story, but I want more reviews! Is that so much to ask?

Disclaimer: I own the pencil sharpener in the story...but nothing else.

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4. I Meet Luke Castellan

Luke Castellan was amazing. No, he was more than that. He was incredible, astonishing, magnificent, brilliant, glorious, dazzling...

Darn it. I ran out of words.

But you get my point.

I had officially caught up with the class by the end of first period. I owed it all to Luke. He really helped me understand integers, algebra, geometry, inequalities, everything.

"And then you just divide two on both sides." He instructed, as I drew the lines under the numbers and divided. "Get it?"

I nodded and flushed. "Thanks."

He smiled. "No problem."

"So where are you from?" Oh my God, Annabeth. Could you be any more pathetic?!

"Connecticut. I moved to New York just a few years ago. I love it here." He grinned.

I had to smile. He was so carefree and relaxed. Luke really had a heart made of gold. He wasn't like other guys.

I picked up my pencil to do the next problem and observed the stub. "Uh..." I pointed to my pencil.

"Oh, go ahead. I'll wait." He smiled again. God, why was he so attractive? I got up and walked over to the pencil sharpener.

I saw a boy already sharpening his pencil. He had dark hair, like Thalia. It was long-ish and he was notably taller than me, by a few inches actually. He was kinda cute, I guess. He stared at the clock outside and then turned around, almost bumping into me.

"Hey." I greeted with a smile. There was nothing wrong with being friendly, right?

"H-Hey..." He replied after a while. Then he stared at me.

I raised an eyebrow. Did I have something on my face? I was pretty sure I didn't. So why was he staring at me so intently?

"Uh, can you come back to Earth now?" I said to him. He apparently didn't hear me. "Hey!" Still, he didn't respond. "Hello?" I waved my hand frantically in front of his face.

"Huh?" He blinked at me.

"Why were you staring at me like that?" I demanded.

It looked like he blushed and he started to think. He didn't reply for about a minute.

"Never mind." I maneuvered around him to get to the pencil sharpener. I snuck a glance at him and saw him already sitting back at his desk, talking to Thalia.

"So they're friends..." I murmured to myself. Did that mean I would see him at lunch?

I wasn't being hopeful or anything...I was simply wondering.

Why would I want to talk to him again so much? It's not like I really enjoyed our conversation. It wasn't even a conversation, basically. And who cared if I didn't even know his name? Not me, that's for sure.

As far as I knew, I liked Luke Castellan.

His piercing green eyes...

(Wait, Luke didn't have green eyes...)

His shaggy, black hair...

(Wasn't Luke's hair blond?)

The way he would stutter, which I thought was kinda cute...

(Luke didn't stutter!)

See? I'm totally head over heels in love with Luke Castellan.

And NOT some guy I didn't know the name of who was taller than me by an inch with beautiful green eyes and black hair.

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A/N: I know that it's horrible that I showed the same scene in Annabeth's point of view, but it HAD to be done. The next chapter will be longer (I think?). You know what else is horrible? The fact that this chapter is about 800 words. Pathetic, I know. Sorry! It'll all pay off eventually if you press that periwinkle 'review' button. You'll also get ambrosia, nectar, and five golden drachmas! Whaddaya think about that? ;)

-Alice


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you to those who have reviewed. Yes, I accept anonymous reviews and I thank those anonymous people who have reviewed! :) I'm updating pretty fast, aren't I? Well, I have about thirteen, fourteen chapters done already so that's why. If I didn't, I'd update every week or so. Ha. Anyways, enjoy this longer chapter!  
-Alice

Disclaimer: I don't own anything; everything belongs to Rick Riordan and I love him for writing these books in the first place. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a purpose.

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5. Seaweed Brain and Wise Girl

"It's time for lunch." Thalia nudged me in my ribs.

"What?"

"Annabeth is gonna sit with us." She laughed maniacally.

"You're crazy." I laughed with her.

"So? Everyone loves me just the way I am!" She spread her arms out.

"Yeah. Sure."

She punched me in my arm. "Shut it. Now, hopefully everyone's here today."

"They are...I think." I thought about everyone who sat at our table. Annabeth would meet all of them.

Thalia steered away from me and over to our circular table in the middle of the cafeteria. I went up in the lunch line and got today's special: cheeseburger with tater tots; yum. Then I swiped a Coke and placed it on my tray. I waited (impatiently) to pay for my lunch. I looked over at our table; everyone had taken their seats.

Now we just had to wait for Annabeth to come strolling in hand-in-hand with Luke.

Ugh, Luke. What a weenie...

It was my turn to pay (finally). I handed the lady the amount of money and walked towards my table.

"Hey, Percy!" Grover Underwood grinned.

I took a seat next to my buddy and bumped fists with him. "Hey, what's up?"

"We are all awaiting the arrival of your beloved Annabeth." Nico di Angelo joked.

Everyone laughed and his sister, Bianca added, "When's the wedding?"

Thalia grinned deviously. "You told them already?!" I exploded.

"Maybe." She cackled.

"You are so weird, Thalia." Rachel Dare shook her head, making her red curls bounce around.

"Thank you."

I looked at everyone at the table. There was Thalia, Nico, Bianca, Rachel, Tyson, Juniper and Grover: our big, happy family.

"Thalia!"

We all looked up and saw Annabeth standing without Luke.

"Oh, Annabeth! Where's Luke?" Thalia said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Over there." She pointed to a table a few feet away from us. Luke was sitting with Clarisse, Chris, Silena, Charlie Beckendorf (who we just called 'Beckendorf'), Ethan, Michael, and a few other people I didn't know.

What I did know is that everyone at that table is a jerk, and if you're smart, you'll try your best to avoid them.

The only two who I thought were okay were Silena Beauregard and Beckendorf. Silena was one of the most popular girls in the school and her personality and looks proved it. Beckendorf was super-genius smart and he could've skipped high school if he wanted. Oddly enough, Silena and Beckendorf were together. Opposites attract, I guess.

"Oh." Thalia shrugged. "You're with us now." She smiled and everyone else joined in. Annabeth took a seat next to Thalia...which also happened to be next to me.

"So anyways, it's time for introductions!" Thalia exclaimed. Everyone at the table stopped eating and looked up eagerly. "I'm Thalia Grace."

"Hi, Thalia!" Tyson said enthusiastically.

Everyone laughed, even Annabeth.

"I'm Juniper Ivy." Juniper spoke up. She smiled sweetly.

Annabeth nodded and smiled back.

"I'm Tyson!" Tyson bellowed. "I think you're pretty." He laughed.

We all laughed with him and Annabeth joined in soon after.

"I'm Grover Underwood; nice to meet ya!" Grover shook Annabeth's firmly. Good ol' Grover...

"I'm Bianca di Angelo." Bianca pointed to herself. "My brother, Nico, is this funny-looking guy right here." She pointed to Nico who was sitting next to her.

"Hey! I can introduce myself, y'know."

"Yeah, but then you'd flirt with her."

"Nuh-uh."

"Whatever.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Are they always like that?" Annabeth whispered to no one in particular.

"Yeah, pretty much." I answered. "If they're not arguing, there's something seriously wrong with the world."

She giggled. Wow, she sounded cute when she giggled. I slapped myself in my head. Stop it, Percy, I thought.

"I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare, but just call me Rachel." Rachel gave Annabeth her 'award-winning' smile and tossed her hair behind her shoulder.

Annabeth nodded again in response and stared at Rachel strangely. "Will do."

It got silent. Everyone stared at me.

"What?"

"You didn't introduce yourself." Thalia snorted.

"Oh." I turned to Annabeth. "I'm--"

"Perseus Logan Jackson." Grover interrupted.

"He likes to be called 'Percy' though." Juniper added.

"His mom, Sally, makes the _best_ blue food ever." Tyson sighed and Bianca nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

"Don't ever take Percy shopping." Nico grinned, hiding my ADHD "secret".

"And he's clumsy." Rachel jumped in.

"Did you guys really have to tell my life story?" I said irritably.

"Well, duh." Thalia replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You were taking too long."

"No, I wasn't! I was just about to say my name and all of you just started talking!"

"So? Your point?"

"Ugh, never mind." I grumbled, crossing my arms.

"Thalia, one. Percy, zero." She smirked.

I chucked a straw at her face. It landed straight on.

"Jackson, you'll pay for that." She warned.

"Ooh, I'm scared." I said with no emotion in my voice.

She scowled and threw the straw absentmindedly. It hit Tyson.

"Thalia, why did you throw it at Tyson?" He asked in confusion. Tyson always spoke in third-person. Why? Nobody knew.

"Oh, sorry." Thalia muttered.

Tyson threw the straw away from his face and this time, it hit Bianca.

"Nico!" She looked up from her notebook. Bianca was a writer and was writing a story obviously. She wasn't paying attention and thought Nico threw it at her.

"What the heck? It wasn't me!"

"Yeah, _right_." Bianca hurled it at Nico's face.

"Why?!"

"Why what?" Bianca asked innocently.

"You're despicable."

"Wow, I think I actually like it here." Annabeth commented.

"Really? Oh, that's so great!" Juniper clasped her hands together and smiled. Grover mirrored Juniper, minus the clasping-hands thing.

"How was Luke?" Grover asked. "I heard that he helped you in first period."

"You did? How?" Annabeth asked.

"News travels fast here." Rachel spoke up. "Things spread like wildfires."

"Thank you for that interesting simile, Rachel." Thalia remarked.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Nothing." Thalia shrugged.

"Then why are you questioning me?"

"I'm not! Geez, calm down!"

"I AM CALM!"

"Right. Okay."

"Ugh, I don't know how anyone could put up with you, _Thalia Alyssa Grace_."

"_Rachel Elizabeth Dare_."

"Uh..." Annabeth trailed off.

"Don't worry; this is normal too." I reassured her.

"Okay then."

"Anyways, what class do you have next?" Juniper asked Annabeth.

"I think history."

"Hey, I have that class next." I realized aloud.

"Mind taking me there?"

I almost stopped breathing. Was she asking me to walk with her to history?

'That's not even that big of a deal.' My negative side stated.

'Yes, it is! Percy loves Annabeth and this is their chance to talk!' My positive side argued.

"Shut up." I muttered to myself.

"What?" Annabeth stared at me, puzzled.

"Not you." I stammered. "I, uh, meant Bianca and Nico and Thalia and Rachel."

"Oh."

"So Percy, Annabeth asked you a question." Grover winked.

"Um, sure." I spluttered.

"Thanks." She smiled.

I almost melted. Argh--I was such a sap.

Grover and Juniper exchanged a smirk. Thalia just _had_ to tell everybody, didn't she?

* * *

After lunch was over, Annabeth waited for me to get my stuff for history.

"Your locker is..."

"Messy?"

"No. Horrendous, chaotic, cluttered." Annabeth wrinkled her nose.

I laughed. "Nice choice of words, Wise Girl."

"Where did _that_ come from?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"What? This?" I picked up a shirt with tomato sauce over it.

"No, not that. But, ew." She continued. "I was talking about the name you gave me. Where'd you get 'Wise Girl'?"

"Oh." I blushed. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I didn't even realize that until she mentioned it now.

"Well, you're 'Seaweed Brain' then." She said haughtily.

I chuckled. "And your explanation is?"

"Your brain is full of kelp." She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ah. Thanks." I smiled. Secretly, I loved that nickname. Seaweed Brain.

Seaweed Brain and Wise Girl, Wise Girl and Seaweed Brain; that's the way I wanted it to be.

* * *

***MUST-READ A/N: Question: Was Percy in character in this chapter? I'd like to know via review. Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, peeps. :) Alice appreciates them! This chapter is really short, I know. So the next chapter is already posted as well. The eighth chapter will be up sometime on Sunday. Maybe Monday. It depends if I'm lazy tomorrow. Hah.

Disclaimer: I only own Percy and Annabeth's middle names, because Rick Riordan doesn't tell us their middle names. Nothing else!

* * *

6. I (Officially) Meet Percy Jackson

As we walked together to the history classroom, it was quiet.

It wasn't an awkward silence, though. It was more of a peaceful one. While Seaweed Brain was looking for his history book at his locker, we started talking.

I learned that his mom was married to Paul Blofis (we joked about how it sounded a whole lot like 'blowfish'.). His mom decided to keep her maiden name and give Percy her last name instead of using 'Blofis'.

Seriously, how funny would 'Percy Blofis' sound?

Then we talked about favorites.

My favorite color was orange, his was blue.

His favorite animal was any ocean mammal, mine was an owl.

His friends described him as disoriented; my old friends described me as intelligent/intellectual/smart.

My lucky number was seven, his was 203.

He was actually fun to talk to and he wasn't such a bad guy. Your first thought when you meet him is, "Ugh, another guy with skater hair."

It turned out that Seaweed Brain doesn't even know how to skateboard. But it was okay, because I didn't either.

The history classroom was at the back of the school, and it was the oldest room in Bridgeton. It also happened to be a lot of students' favorite class. I had asked Seaweed Brain about the teacher, but he said, "It's a surprise."

What was that supposed to mean?

As we turned down the last hallway, we stopped at an iron door with a gold doorknob. There was a small peephole, like this was an apartment door instead of a classroom door.

It was then that realization hit me.

"Hey." I nudged him.

"What?"

"You never introduced yourself to me." I said.

"Sure I did." He nodded.

"_Nooo_, that was everyone else introducing you. You never introduced yourself by yourself."

"Oh, stop being all smart alec-ky." He rolled his eyes. "You know my name, Wise Girl."

"Do it." I poked him in the stomach.

"No--stop that! It actually hurts."

"Do it."

"Ow! No."

"Do it."

"Annabeth!" He whined childishly.

"What?" I asked innocently.

Then Perseus Jackson did the unexpected: he poked me in my stomach.

"Ow!"

"See?" He stuck his tongue out.

I had no other choice. I hadn't done this in years, but it could still work.

I put on my cutest puppy-dog face. "Pleaseee?"

"Aw, not _that_ face!" Percy turned away, shielding his eyes.

I made sure to get right in front of him. I did the face again and saw him peek at me.

"Fine..." He sighed and gave in.

"And that's why girls get what they want." I smirked.

"You're just like Thalia." He groaned.

I changed the subject. "Yeah, so introduce yourself."

"I'm Percy Jackson. It's nice to meet you, Annabeth Alexandra Chase." He smirked.

I gaped. "Where did you get that from?"

"I have my ways."

"Perseus Logan Jackson."

"Please never say that again."

"No promises, Seaweed Brain."

* * *

A/N: Ugh, Percy and Annabeth are out of character, aren't they? Grr. It will be much better in the next chapter. The next chapter will also be longer. Wheeee. REVIEW OR I'LL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND AMBUSH YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!

Just kidding. Duh. But PLEASE review. They keep me going! -Alice


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: As promised. The next chapter already here for your enjoyment! I think Percy's a little bit out of character. You won't throw rotten tomatoes, right? Or worse, cabbage?

-Alice

* * *

7. I Control the Seas (and Horses)

Annabeth laughed and opened the iron door. It creaked and she peeked inside. Half of the class was already seated. Everything looked normal so far.

"RAHHH!"

Annabeth shrieked and fell to the ground. Everyone in the class started cracking up laughing, including me.

Our history teacher, Mr. Brunner grinned and took off his creepy mask with the face of Medusa on it.

I extended my hand forward to help Annabeth up while everyone else continued laughing and talking. Annabeth took my hand, which felt so warm. I didn't want her to let go.

Then, being the devious person she is, she pulled me down with her.

"OOF!"

She stuck her tongue out at me. "That's what you get for not warning me."

"Don't take this too seriously, Miss Chase." Mr. Brunner said. "I do this to all my students."

"What did Percy do when he first walked through this door?" She asked.

"Don't tell her!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, alright; it's only because you are one of my favorite students." Mr. Brunner smiled.

I breathed a sigh of relief, standing up and brushing invisible dust off of my clothes. Annabeth stood up and did the same.

"So what you did must've been pretty embarrassing, huh?" Annabeth smirked at me.

"No comment."

I took my assigned seat in the front row and Annabeth was told to sit in the column next to mine, but two rows back. If I turned to my right and looked back, I would see her making a face at me.

"Listen up, boys and girls!" Mr. Brunner smacked a meter stick on Nico's desk. He jumped back and grinned at me a second later, making a 'thumbs up' sign. He was probably saying, 'I'm okay!'

"Today, we are starting Greek mythology!"

"How is that history?" One of the idiots in the back row named Steven Selkirk asked. He was big, beefy, and was dumb as cork.

No, scratch that. Cork served a function in society. Cork was way smarter than Steven.

"Mythology _is_ history in many ways. It was a way for the ancient Greeks to explain the seasons and natural disasters. They also believed the gods and goddesses each controlled an aspect of life. Zeus was the king of the gods and controlled the sky. Each god was respected in their own way because each could help the person with that part of their life. Demeter was the grain goddess and people often offered sacrificed to her in hopes that she would repay them with a good harvest."

"But how could someone do that? That's like, impossible." Steven mused.

Mr. Brunner walked over to Steven's desk and smacked the desk with a meter stick. "Boy, have you been listening the past few months in my class? It is not valid; that's why it's called 'mythology' and not facts." Was he the awesomest teacher or what?

He walked back up to the front of the classroom and touched the SmartBoard.

A SmartBoard was a high-tech thing-a-ma-bob that you hang on the chalkboard. A projector could project things onto it. The SmartBoard came with four different colored pens so you could write on the board. Anything you could do on a computer, you could do on a SmartBoard. It was just bigger so everyone could see and play interactive games and stuff.

When Mr. Brunner touched it, a screen popped up. It was a quiz and I had a feeling that he was gonna make everyone in the class take it.

"Alright, class! Since we're starting Greek mythology, we are all now getting new names in class!"

"Cool!" Nico blurted out.

"You will take this quiz and it will determine which god or goddess you are most like. You could also turn out to be an important Greek mortal or a mythical Greek monster or animal. Your peers and I will then know you by that name in this class until we finish this unit. Are we clear?"

The class erupted into excited cheers. I turned back and saw Annabeth smiling at me. Why did she have to make me melt whenever she smiled?

"I have a question!" Steven roared. Everyone rolled their eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"Yes, Steven?"

"What if two people get the same god?"

"I assure you that will not happen. You write your answer for the question on the line instead of clicking a bubble." He explained.

"Oh, mm-kay." Steven leaned back in his seat, satisfied.

"Let's see...ah, Annabeth Chase!" Mr. Brunner called out.

I turned around to see Annabeth making her way up to the SmartBoard.

"Now, have you ever used a SmartBoard?"

"Yeah, I have." She picked up the red pen and looked ready.

"Proceed, please."

Annabeth zoomed through the questions with such speed that we hardly had time to see her answers. She seemed so positive about what she liked or didn't like. When I got called, I knew I would take at least an hour.

"Last question," Mr. Brunner announced. "What is your pet peeve?"

Annabeth scribbled something in the line in neat, cursive print. It was like murder on my eyes. She wrote in print for every other answer, so I didn't know what she was doing.

And I was not about to try to figure that word out, whatever it was. It just looked like 'Deesewa Rinbas' to me.

It was time for the results. Annabeth got Athena, goddess of wisdom. I didn't read that; I just heard Nico shout it out. I figured Annabeth would get something like that. Nico began reading the short summary and it said that Athena was wise and strategic. She invented the olive tree and swore to never marry. Athena's symbol was an owl. Funny, because Annabeth's favorite animal happened to be that.

"Pick me next!" Nico burst out of his seat.

"Alright, Nico, you're up!" Mr. Brunner patted him on the back.

"Yes!" He pumped his fist in the air and strolled up to the board. He chose the black pen and waited for Mr. Brunner to go back to the first page with the first set of questions.

Soon enough, class was over and everyone had gone up--minus me. Mr. Brunner said that I would stay after school to take this quiz. I was okay with it. After all, Annabeth volunteered to stay with me. I discovered that she lived in my neighborhood and she said she had "nothing better to do".

Before I took the quiz, I found out my friends' new names in history class. I also found out the names of people who weren't my friends, but I knew and talked to.

During the time it took Steven to write out his answers (he was the last one up), I made this list:

Wise Girl: Athena (Duh.)

Nico: Hades (Evil, much?)

Bianca: Artemis (Nico would not stop torturing Bianca about how Artemis stayed a maiden for life so Bianca would most likely too.)

Thalia: Zeus (Strangely, she was okay with the fact that she got a god instead of a goddess. He _was_ the king of the gods and Thalia _was_ bossy sometimes.)

Rachel: Amphitrite (Amphitrite was the wife of Poseidon. She was a Nereid--sea nymph--and was forced to marry Poseidon. Ha.)

Grover: Satyr (Grover was pretty psyched to be half-goat.)

Juniper: Dryad (A dryad was a tree nymph. Satyrs were attracted to them like you wouldn't imagine.)

Tyson: Cyclops (Tyson was really enthusiastic about this.)

Luke: Hercules (You're kidding me, right?)

Clarisse: Ares (No comment.)

Chris: Hermes (He did spread rumors a lot. That's like messages, right?)

Silena: Aphrodite (Obvious.)

Beckendorf: Hephaestus (Funny how Aphrodite and Hephaestus are married.)

Steven: Kronos (Kronos was the supreme ruler of the Titans, the Olympians gods' parents and siblings. He was evil and ate his children. I wondered if Steven would consider being a cannibal when he grew up.)

Mr. Brunner: Chiron (Chiron was a centaur. A centaur is half-horse, half-man. I thought it was pretty cool. He told us that we were required to call him Chiron for the rest of the year.)

"Are you ready, Percy?" 'Chiron' asked me from his desk at the back of the room. I was looking over my list. My hand cramped. Writing was difficult.

I picked up the blue pen and looked at Annabeth, who was sitting at a desk right in front of me. "Yeah."

"Don't worry; take all the time you need." Chiron winked at me. He knew about my dyslexia. Hopefully Annabeth would never have to know. She was smart, and would probably hate me once she figured out I was dumb. Chiron motioned for me to begin and left us alone as he turned back to his paperwork.

"Hey, Wise Girl, mind reading the questions?"

She rolled her eyes at me, but began reading anyway, slowly. "What is your favorite color?"

I wrote in 'blue' and we continued.

"If you were stuck on a desert island and could only bring one item with you, what would it be?"

"A boat." I scoffed, writing it in.

"Really?" Annabeth said in a sarcastic tone.

"Really."

"Next question." She sighed. "What is your favorite animal?"

I wrote in 'ocean mammals' very slowly. I peeked back at Annabeth and saw her reading a large, hardcover book.

She looked back up at me and saw the next question.

So it went back and forth like this for a while; Annabeth read the question and gave me time to think and write my answer, while she read her book. I guessed that my dyslexia was acting up because I paused in the middle of writing a word when I saw the cover of the book. The letters didn't even look like letters. Instead, they were lines and circles and shapes and other things that made my brain hurt.

"Annabeth, what are you reading?" I asked casually.

"Oh, um..." She blushed. "Greek."

My eyes widened. "You can read Greek?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I've known how to for a few years now." She sighed. "Go ahead."

"What?" I stared at her, confused.

"Make fun like everyone else does." She muttered.

"Why would I do that?" I smiled. "I think it's cool."

"Really? You do?" Annabeth smiled again, which made me melt again.

I nodded.

We stared at each other for a long time until Chiron cleared his throat loudly.

"Percy, I think you should finish the last question." He winked at me. I blushed and turned back to the board. I snuck a glance at Annabeth and saw her face turning a noticeable shade of red.

Knowing she wouldn't read this question for me, I read it to myself in my head. After putting down an answer, I pressed the green button to get my results.

"How long does this take?" I asked irritably.

Chiron chuckled. "Percy, it's only been a few seconds."

Annabeth snickered. I glared back.

"Ah, here we go!" Chiron said a minute later. "You are Poseidon, god of the seas and earthquakes. You are one of the big three (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades) and you also invented dolphins and horses. Because of this, you understand all underwater animals and horses. You are also married to Amphitrite."

"Isn't that Rachel?" Annabeth said flatly.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, look at the time." Annabeth looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "2:57. I've got to be home by 3:10." She grabbed her things and bolted out the door before I could catch up to her.

"What's wrong with her?" I muttered to myself.

"Percy, you see things differently than everyone else. However, this time, it's quite obvious what's 'wrong' with your friend, Annabeth. You just aren't looking deep enough." Chiron said thoughtfully.

"Huh?"

"All in time, Percy." He nodded.

I shook my head, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and walking out the door. What did he mean? How could I look deeper?

* * *

A/N: If you can figure out what Annabeth's pet peeve is, you'll get an exact replica of her Yankees cap of invisibility. And to seal the deal, you will get a ballpoint pen that turns into a sword when you uncap it! And it always returns to you. Just send the answer in a REVIEW! ;)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Without further ado, the next chapter! This is another one of those really short chapters, so the next one is already up as you're reading this. Yay! Also, I'd like to mention that I KNOW there aren't many houses in New York. Percy should be living in an apartment, but in my story, he's living in one of the very few neighborhoods with houses. Annabeth, as well. Read on, readers!  
-Alice

Disclaimer: Nothing own I.

* * *

8. I Forgive Kelp-For-Brains

Stupid Percy.

He was so dense. No, that wasn't the right word. He was so...obtuse.

He always looked at the big picture instead of the little details.

Was he naturally good at annoying me or did he have to work at it?

He never realized people's true feelings, even if they were dropping hints--

What was I saying?

I sighed, plopping down on the soft, cushiony seat in my room. I turned the chair so I was looking out of my window.

I climbed out of my window and gripped the railing of my balcony. It was cloudy and blustery today, the exact kind of weather I hated. I shivered.

I let go of the railing and was about to go back inside when I heard someone call my name.

"Hey, Annabeth?"

I looked left, right, up, and down.

"In front of you."

I stared straight ahead and saw a familiar face standing on his own balcony from his house, which was only a few feet away. I guessed that all the houses were modeled the same. His room was on the side of the house, as was mine. Seaweed Brain could easily spy on me now.

I turned away and stared at my shoes.

"Are you still mad at me?" He half-shouted over the wind.

I walked inside my room and shut the big window. I ignored Percy's look of bewilderment and picked up a large sketchbook my mother bought for me recently. I then swiped a black marker off of my desk and sat facing Percy. I wrote on the book: WHAT DO YOU THINK, SEAWEED BRAIN?

Percy stared at the message for a while then shut his own window. After a few minutes, he plopped down on his bed which was right next to his window and showed a marker board: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I DID, BUT SORRY. :(

Great; now he was making me feel guilty. Not only that, but how could I stay mad at him for more than two seconds when he was making that face?!

I held up my book: FINE.

Percy: WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?

Me: YOU'RE SUCH A SEAWEED BRAIN THAT I'LL FORGIVE YOU THIS TIME.

Percy: THANKS. :)

Me: I'LL SEE YOU AT SCHOOL TOMORROW...?

Percy: YEAH. WEDNESDAY.

Me: UH-HUH.

Percy: BYE, WISE GIRL.

Me: BYE, SEAWEED BRAIN.

I closed up my sketchbook after writing a sentence that I didn't get to show.

I pursed my lips and sighed, dropping it to the floor. Then I proceeded to close my curtains when I saw Seaweed Brain writing something intently on his marker board.

I rolled my eyes and swished the curtains closed.

Sometimes, I wondered if his brain actually _was_ full of kelp.

* * *

A/N: I apologize for any OOC-ness. I also apologize for the length of this chapter. Even I'm upset with it, but there's a reason these chapters are short. We're VERY close to the longer chapter, so get psyched! R E V I E W !


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Next chapter, as promised. Thanks for the reviews so far. :)

Disclaimer: Nothing own I.

* * *

9. I Dream About Annabeth's Smile

"Percy, it's 11:00." My mom said, walking into my room. "Go to bed."

"Okay." I muttered. I pulled the covers over myself.

"Good night, sweetie."

"Good night, Mom."

Darkness engulfed the room.

Today was a good day; today was a really good day.

I couldn't stop thinking about Annabeth. She was...different than Rachel, Silena, and Thalia. She was a good different though.

11:02. Geez, I would never get to bed if I didn't get her face out of my head.

My first technique was to close my eyes and count sheep.

One sheep hopping over the picket fence, two sheep hopping over the picket fence, three sheep hopping over the picket fence--hey, when did sheep have blonde, curly hair that looked like a princess's?

I sighed loudly. This wasn't working. I took a few deep breaths and concentrated on the sounds of New York.

I don't know when, but I fell asleep hearing a 10-wheeler truck speed by.

In my dream, I remember seeing myself staring at a poster on the wall.

"The ninth grade spring formal?" Thalia nudged me. "Thinking about going?"

I shrugged. "Maybe." But I continued staring at the poster. Since when did Bridgeton Academy have formals?

"Then you better ask Annabeth NOW." She turned me around. "Luke Castellan at 9:00."

I quickly walked up to Annabeth. "H-Hey, Annabeth."

"What's with the rush, Seaweed Brain?" She asked me.

"Uh, I was just wondering if you, um--"

"Are you trying to ask me to the spring formal?" She smiled.

I froze up; I could never talk to her when she was smiling at me like that.

"Well?" She stopped smiling. "Hello??"

"W-What?"

"Were you gonna ask me something?" Annabeth urged, smiling again.

"Uh, duh..."

"Seaweed Brain!"

I looked around. That sounded like Annabeth's voice...but she was right in front of me.

"PERCY! WAKE UP!"

I woke with a start and sat up. My arms felt sore. I saw that Annabeth was looking away, blushing.

Oh, crap. I was holding her!

Wait, how did she even get in my house?

"Annabeth?"

"What?"

"Why are you here?"

"Um, I was wondering if you wanted to walk to school together. Your mom let me in and told me you were still sleeping."

"Oh."

"Um, Percy?" She looked me in the eyes.

"Oh, right!" I let go of her. "Uh, give me five minutes." I bolted into the bathroom, hoping my face wasn't too red.

What a great way to start my morning.

* * *

A/N: Short again? Yeah. Next one will be MUCH longer. Pinky swear!

-Alice


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: At long last! The next chapter! -music plays, then slurs to a stop- Well, I guess Apollo doesn't like me today. Things are heating up!

-Alice

Disclaimer: Aielc dosn'et onw atnhngyi.

* * *

10. A Centaur Calls My Name

It was quiet between us as we walked to school. It was still early, but that didn't stop New York from being noisy as usual.

It was Wednesday, and there was supposedly a big assembly today. We had to go to the auditorium before classes. A lot of people were happy about that because they would miss their first period class, whatever it was.

I subtly glanced at Percy. He was listening to his iPod, staring intently at his iPod screen. He was playing that bubble wrap game only available on iPod Touches. I smiled to myself. He could really be a Seaweed Brain sometimes.

"Annabeth?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Why were you staring at me like that?" He frowned. He probably thought he had something on his face.

"No reason." I said coolly.

"Hey, guys!"

We both looked up and saw that we were on school grounds. Thalia was waving her arms like crazy until Rachel scolded her. Thalia scowled and folded her arms.

"About time you guys got here." Nico smirked.

"Nico!" Bianca smacked his arm.

"So did you guys have a nice walk here?" Juniper asked sweetly.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked while Percy continued his game of bubble wrap, oblivious to the world.

"Let's just all go to the auditorium together." Grover smiled, a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips.

Tyson murmured something to Thalia and she grinned at me.

What the heck were they talking about?

* * *

Soon, we were all seated in the middle of the auditorium. Rachel was closest to the aisle. To her left was Percy, followed by me, Thalia, Grover, Juniper, Nico, and Bianca.

The auditorium at Bridgeton was colossal. They must really be a big supporter in the arts. The stage was almost as big as the one you see on Broadway. There were over a thousand seats. I wondered if Bridgeton even had a thousand students attending the school. I wasn't kept wondering long. 7:45 rolled around and almost every seat was occupied by a student.

"Attention!"

Everyone quieted down and turned their attention to the speaker. I recognized her as Principal Bitters.

"As you all know, March is ending and it's getting close to April." She said into the microphone. Everyone murmured and wondered what she was talking about.

"Yes!"

I turned to Thalia. "You know?"

"Well, duh. We're freshmen now so we get to go!" She grinned.

"Go where?"

Principal Bitters cleared her throat and continued. "On April 5th, all freshmen students of Bridgeton Academy will depart and leave for camp."

This got everyone talking and even Percy stopped 'popping' bubble wrap.

I remembered Principal Bitters mentioning this once when I first arrived in New York. When you got to your freshmen year, you would have the chance to get out of school for a week to go camping with a hundred other students. Every year, the location of the camp was different. I heard that last year, the students went to North Carolina.

"I hope we get to go somewhere out of the country! It's happened once." Thalia bounced in her seat excitedly.

I smiled. "Yeah, I hope."

"Wise Girl." I turned to my left and Percy was grinning. "Cross your fingers. I want you to be with me when we go to camp."

I scoffed. "How do you know you'll get picked?"

He shrugged. "I can feel it."

"Settle down, ninth graders! Now, this year, we are narrowing it down to a smaller group that gets the privilege to go to camp."

Moans, complaints, and whines could be heard throughout the auditorium.

"I know it seems unfair, but many hooligans' names were drawn out of the box last year for camp. We think it's better to choose the students most likely to be on their best behavior and who deserve the opportunity."

"I'm out." Percy muttered.

I poked him. "Cross your fingers. You'll really need it now." I teased.

"Shut up."

"We will now have five of Bridgeton Academy's teachers choose five students each."

"Only twenty-five people get to go?" Someone shouted.

"Yes." Principal Bitters. "Now, here are your teachers!"

Five teachers walked from out of the curtains. They were introduced as Mr. Brunner (Chiron, actually), Mrs. Dodds (math), Dr. Thorn (English), Mrs. Sanders (biology), and Miss Wynn (health).

"Mrs. Dodds, you may call your five students up to the stage."

"I'm so not getting called up." Thalia moaned.

"Katie Gardner, Michael Yew, Luke Castellan, Tyson Briares, and Juniper Ivy; please come up!" Mrs. Dodds called out.

I watched Tyson and Juniper scramble up to the stage with everyone else. Luke gave everyone a thumbs-up and looked great as usual. Tyson was giving Juniper a high-five, while she looked nervously at Grover. Katie played with her fingers and Michael crossed his arms, looking serious.

"Next, Dr. Thorn will call up his students."

Dr. Thorn called up Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Clarisse La Rue, Chris Rodriguez, and Ethan Nakamura and they all went up to the stage. There were only three teachers left. I hoped that Chiron would call my name. I exhaled slowly.

"Don't worry; you'll get called for sure." Percy smiled at me. Did he have any idea what his smile did to me?

I scrunched up my eyebrows; since when did I start thinking of that kind of stuff?

"Annabeth!" Thalia screamed in my ear. I jumped.

"What?"

"Chiron called you up!" She smiled.

I looked up at the stage and saw three more people added to the bunch: Rachel, Grover, and Percy.

Thalia and I had been called too.

It felt weird standing on the stage. Everyone stared at you. And it didn't help that Seaweed Brain kept smiling at me.

Miss Wynn called up Bianca and Nico (to Nico's surprise), Malerie Moore, Jake Mason, and Malcolm Sinclair. Mrs. Sanders called Will Solace, Gabriella Ramirez, Troy Brogan, Travis Stoll, and Connor Stoll (I was confused on this part because I thought Travis and Connor had a reputation for messing around in class.)

Everyone was together now, which was a good thing. Nico was personally congratulating every one of us and did something different each time. He high-fived Tyson, hugged his sister, shook Grover's hand, patted Juniper on the back, did a special handshake with Thalia, kissed Rachel on the cheek (her face was priceless) pounded knuckles with Percy, and twirled me around.

I was going to ask him if he had any caffeine before school, but instead I mouthed to Bianca, "Is he always like this?"

Bianca shook her head subtly.

"Now, do you lucky students wanna know what camp you're going to?" Chiron said into the microphone. The whole ninth grade exploded into cheers and claps. I wondered why they were so excited even though they weren't going.

I didn't really care where the location was; I was just glad I had the opportunity _to_ go.

I was also glad that I would be going with...er, my friends.

* * *

IMPORTANT A/N: Not my best chapter, in my opinion...but tell me what you think! Things are starting to get exciting...no? You don't think so? Well, alrighty then. :P Also, I'd like at least seven reviews until the next chapter. No seven reviews, no next chapter. I accept anonymous reviews, people!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N:Thanks SO MUCH for the reviews. It made me really happy! And a happy writer means better chapters...at least, I hope.

It depends on what you guys think. Are they out of character, does it move too fast, do I stink and should just stop...actually, don't say that 'cause I won a writing competition. -sticks out tongue- Nyah, nyah! Anyways, continue reading! Enjoy...

ONE MORE THING! They're not going to Camp Half-Blood, okay? This is AU, so they're not demigods. Sorry. But I'll still incorporate little Greek stuff here and there into the story.

--Alice

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

* * *

11. The Next Line of Thalia's Prophecy

"Percy, do you have everything?" My mom asked me for the sixteenth time that day.

"Yes, Mom." I said automatically.

It was Monday, April 5th. Today, a charter bus would come by to pick up every student chosen to go to camp this year.

Charter buses were big, fancy buses that seated a lot of people. They were more comfortable than school buses because they had TVs and other cool stuff.

Our bus could seat forty-seven people. There were twenty-five students going, but the remaining seats would be taken up by Chiron and our luggage.

I was excited...until my mom woke me up at 6:30. She said that the bus would come at 7:30 and that I "had no time to lose"

It was 7:20 right now. That meant that I had ten minutes to...uh...

What could I do in ten minutes?

I then thought about the bus.

Who would I sit with?

Grover? Nah, he would be sitting with Juniper.

Nico already made a plan to sit with Gabriella Rodriguez; he thought she was cute.

Tyson was sitting with Thalia.

Bianca was sitting with Katie Gardner, or that's what I heard.

Maybe...Annabeth? Or maybe Rachel?

Before Annabeth came along, Rachel and I were...I don't know. She would always hang out at my house. I went on vacations with her family and she went on vacations with mine. We were best friends...maybe more, but I didn't have time to figure that out.

But then Annabeth transferred here. We became fast friends even though we were like, opposites. And whenever she smiled at me, I'd get this feeling in my stomach.

Nico told me that "It's love, young Percy." and Tyson said that I probably just ate some bad tacos. I decided to go with Tyson's answer...for now.

"Percy! The bus is here!"

I jumped up and slung my duffel bag over my shoulder. I would only be gone for a week, so I didn't need that much stuff.

My mom hugged me good-bye and told me to be safe and to follow the other students. Paul came up to me and gave me a pat on the back and told me to have fun. I nodded and waved as I walked towards the bus.

On the outside, it was sleek and white with black windows so you couldn't see the seats. You could see through the driver's window, though.

The bus doors were pulled open by an old bus driver and he tipped his hat at me as Chiron took my bag and welcomed me aboard on the trip. I walked the few steps up and stared at everyone.

The bus looked pretty packed, and it seemed as if everyone had already gotten picked up but Annabeth. I was sure she would get on soon, because her house was close to mine.

"Hey, I saved you a seat!" Rachel smiled and patted the seat next to her. Her red hair was tied into two pigtails and she wore a white T-shirt with lace at the bottom, shorts, and black flip-flops. I thought it looked good on her.

She sat towards the front so I didn't have to walk far. I plopped down in the seat closest to the aisle. The seats were blue with red and orange criss-cross designs. And they were comfortable. I had an urge to start bouncing up and down but Rachel would probably think I was weird.

I felt her squeeze my hand and say, "I'm so excited!"

I smiled at her. "Me too."

"Very suspicious..." Someone said from behind us.

I got up from my seat and peeked at who was sitting behind us. Thalia was dressed in a black T-shirt and Capri's and grinned at me simultaneously with Tyson.

"Percy, do you like Rachel?" He whispered.

I blushed. "No, what gave you that idea?"

"I can't believe you're two-timing Annabeth..." Thalia shook her head at me. "Tsk, tsk..."

"I-I don't even--!"

Thalia then covered her mouth so I wouldn't see her smirk. What was she--?

"Hi, Annabeth!" Tyson exclaimed.

I turned to look at Annabeth. She smiled at Tyson. Her blonde hair was tied back into her usual ponytail and she wore a neon blue T-shirt with shorts. She wore matching neon blue Converse. For some reason, I couldn't say anything.

"Hi to you too." She said in a strange tone directly to me. One hand was clutching her bag and the other hand twitching.

"Something wrong, Annabeth?" Rachel asked with concern in her voice.

Annabeth stared at Rachel for a while then walked down the aisle to sit next to Luke Castellan.

* * *

I don't know when, but I fell asleep after Chiron announced that bus left the state of New York. I woke up at around noon and noticed many people on the bus asleep.

I felt something heavy on my right shoulder. It was Rachel. I felt like I was gonna start blushing again, but I bit my cheeks so it wouldn't happen.

PLOP! A piece of paper folded up into a triangle landed in my lap. I turned around slowly so Rachel wouldn't fall and bump her head.

Thalia was bobbing her head to some song on her iPod with her eyes closed. Tyson was playing a game on his PSP. I knew Nico was flirting with Gabriella (and possibly failing) and that Bianca and Katie were gossiping. I could hear them talking about boys. Ugh.

Clarisse was asleep--which surprised me--and Chris was staring at her...smiling?

Grover and Juniper were holding hands, sleeping side-by-side.

Luke said something to Annabeth and she giggled. I suddenly felt something filling up inside of me. At that moment, I wanted to punch Luke in the face.

But I couldn't do that of course; Annabeth would hate me more than she already did right now. Why she hated me, I don't know.

I focused on the note and unfolded it. In neat handwriting, it said:

_Having fun with Rachel?_

Even without a signature, I knew exactly who wrote this.

I didn't know it yet, but this note was the beginning of the next line in Thalia's "prophecy"

_"Then you'll have to beg her for her forgiveness after you do something stupid."_

I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

* * *

A/N: Like it? Love it? Hate it? Makes you wanna puke? I WANNA KNOW! I take constructive criticism.

Also, I would like at least ten reviews for the next chapter. That should give me some time to fix it and edit and crap. Plus, I've got school. You wanna know what happens next, you better click on the magic periwinkle button. ;]


	12. Chapter 12

**-trumpet fanfare- It's here! Finally, the chapters start getting longer! This is Annabeth's point of view, remember. The next chapter will be slightly shorter, I think.**

**Anyways, they finally arrive at camp. How do you think their first day goes? What about the cabin arrangements? And be honest: Who do you think is in Cabin 5? After reading, leave a review of who you thought was in it before finding out. Don't lie! Or I will banish you to Tartarus! Err...yes.**

**No more waiting...read on!**

**-Alice**

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or Camp Michindoh. Camp Michindoh is just the camp I went to when I was in sixth grade.

* * *

12. Cabin 5 Wins the Physical Challenge (Sort of)

After eating a scrumptious lunch at McDonald's, we were back on the road.

Camp Michindoh was in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, but mainly in Ohio, so that was where we were heading.

I was pretty psyched to be going to Ohio. I heard that it was pretty this time of year, during the beginning of spring.

I couldn't hear myself think after a while.

At this point, everything was chaotic--very different from the once peaceful atmosphere when everyone was sleeping.

All of the students were talking to other people across the aisle and TVs were turned on at the top of the bus. Chiron had popped in a random movie and many people started watching. He also pulled out bags of popcorn (I have no idea where he got those from. I was pretty sure McDonald's didn't sell popcorn.).

Luke was in the bathroom--yes, the bus had a bathroom--so I was all alone. I wondered what I could do to keep myself occupied. It was only another few hours or so until we reached the camp.

I tried paying attention to the movie, but got distracted quickly by a sound: Percy's laugh.

I huffed; Luke was cool, but I couldn't help feeling jealous. I wanted to be part of whatever was happening on the other side of the bus.

I saw Seaweed Brain say something to Rachel and then get up. He walked over to the seat next to me and sat down.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Sitting next to my friend." He said.

"What about Rachel?" I said haughtily.

He shrugged. "I'm sitting next to you now."

"That's Luke's seat." I looked away; that was the stupidest thing I've ever said. I regretted saying it the minute it came out of my mouth.

There was a long moment of silence.

"Luke can sit somewhere else." He smiled at me.

And I couldn't help but manage a smile back.

* * *

The next few hours were fun. After Luke saw Percy in his spot, he said that it was "no problem" and sat next to Rachel. They bonded instantly.

I didn't know what went through his mind sometimes. As we drove on the road, he pointed out random things and told me what he thought they resembled. Some of them were really strange.

Still, I was never bored. You never _could_ be bored with him around.

Around 5:03 PM, everyone started quieting down. We were close to the camp.

I could smell the fresh, clean air and the sweet aroma of newly planted flowers. The bus started to slow down as we drove down a jarring, dirt path.

Everything in the bus shook, including the people inside.

Suddenly, the bus went over a big bump and I fell onto Seaweed Brain.

It was beyond embarrassing. My head was in his lap, and I hoped I wasn't blushing because it would be distinctly noticeable.

"Sorry." I muttered, getting up.

"It's okay." He said, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"Ooohhh..." Nico grinned.

"Percy and Annabeth sitting on the bus," Thalia started.

"K-I-S-S-I-N--"

I glared imaginary daggers at Nico and Thalia and they immediately shut up.

Needless to say, things were quiet between Percy and me after that.

* * *

Once everyone got off the bus, I stood in a clump with Percy, Thalia, Bianca, Tyson, Nico, Grover, Juniper, and Rachel.

A tall, grinning man wearing a green polo shirt and khaki shorts waved everyone over. He was carrying a clipboard.

We were getting assigned into cabins, of course.

"Hey, there!" He greeted. "My name is Shawn, and I'm the director of Camp Michindoh. I'll be assigning you all into cabins. How does five to each cabin sound?"

Everyone started chattering and agreeing. Some people whined and complained saying they needed more space.

I rolled my eyes. Divas.

"Alright, in Cabin 1 will be Luke Castellan, Michael Yew, Ethan Nakamura, Jake Mason, and Percy Jackson. Cabin 2 will be Tyson Briares, Charles Beckendorf, Chris Rodriguez, Nico di Angelo, and Troy Brogan. Cabin 3 will be Grover Underwood, Malcolm Sinclair, Will Solace, Travis Stoll, and Connor Stoll. Cabin 4 will be Juniper Ivy, Katie Gardner, Malerie Moore, Gabriella Ramirez, Bianca di Angelo and Clarisse La Rue. And Cabin 5 will be Thalia Grace, Rachel Dare, Silena Beauregard, and Annabeth Chase."

Immediately, everyone started talking to one another. Some of the girls were tearing up and saying their good-byes because they were in different cabins.

I rolled my eyes again.

"Annabeth!" I felt a sudden pain in my right arm.

"Ow! Thalia!"

"Sorry." She smiled sheepishly. "Shawn said that we have to go to our cabins. We have ten minutes and then we have to go to the dining room." She explained quickly, already a few steps ahead of me, dragging her suitcase along.

Cabin 5 was in the middle of four other cabins. It was like a clock. Cabin 1, Cabin 2, Cabin 3, Cabin 4, and Cabin 5 stuck right in the middle.

A few yards behind Cabin 1 was Lake Serenity where canoeing would take place. Cabin 2 was near the forest part of the camp. Thalia told me that we would get to have activities there, too. Cabin 3 was by the gym. There was a rock-climbing wall inside the gym and I so wanted to try it. Also in the camp was the dining hall, a stable for horses, archery, and the animal house.

This camp was turning out to be cooler than Chiron described.

The outsides of the cabins looked pretty nice. Thalia wanted to be the first one inside so she swung open the door upon reaching it. We all saw five single beds lined up towards the back.

Silena squealed in delight and claimed the bed that was "closest to the lake".

"Aren't they all close to the lake?" Rachel asked.

"This one's the closest though. I like having my head facing water." Silena explained.

We all shrugged and took our own beds.

There was an adequate-sized bathroom with three showers inside and two sinks.

There was a large, walk-in closet near the beds. Silena was already putting everyone's clothes inside the closet. Maybe she wasn't as bad as I thought...

"Okay, let's get to dinner. I'm ready for some food!" Thalia licked her lips hungrily and rubbed her hands together.

"I'll be there in a sec. When you guys get back, this closet will be perfect!" Silena smiled, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.

We all said short good-byes and headed out. Rachel pointed out that we were probably going to be the first cabin inside the dining hall.

"Does that mean we get first dibs on desert?" Thalia's eyes gleamed. The key to Thalia's heart was food--actually, it was food and money. I was surprised that I learned so much about her.

I shrugged. "We'll see."

The dining hall wasn't far from the cabins. It was a large building with gleaming, glass windows instead of walls.

We saw people inside setting up tables and Chiron talking to Shawn.

"Should we go in?" Rachel bit her lip. "It looks like they're still getting everything ready."

"Ah, it's fine." Thalia waved her hand in the air and pulled the large Plexiglas door open.

We all made our way inside and it felt unbelievably cool. It felt great compared to the humid weather outside.

Chiron saw us and waved us over. We walked over quickly.

"Do you girls mind calling the other cabins to dinner?" Shawn asked. "There'll be an extra slice of pie with your name on it."

"Make it two and you've got a deal." Thalia bargained.

"Done." Shawn agreed with a chuckle.

"Yes!" She pumped her fist in the air. "I'll get Cabins 2 and 3. Rachel, get Cabin 4. Annabeth, you're on Cabin 1." Thalia instructed.

"Whatever you say, Captain." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey." Thalia waggled a finger at me, making a serious face.

Rachel and I both laughed.

* * *

Thalia wasted no time getting her cabins to the dining hall. Rachel seemed to have a hard time getting Malerie out of the bathroom, or so that's what I've heard.

"Of course Thalia sticks me with Cabin 1." I muttered. I remembered exactly which guys resided there: Jake, Ethan, Michael, Luke, and Seaweed Brain.

I knocked on the door.

No reply.

I put my ear to the door and heard, "Shh!" and "Shut up! She's coming!"

Just then, someone opened the door and I fell in on something.

No, it was _someone_.

"Watch it!" I snapped.

"Sorry, Annabeth." He muttered sheepishly.

Seaweed Brain.

I scrambled to my feet and straightened my shirt. "You guys are supposed to be in the dining hall for dinner."

"We'll be right there." Luke flashed me a shimmering smile.

I managed to nod and quickly escaped the horrors of Cabin 1.

How many more embarrassing moments would I have to face in this horror-filled day?

* * *

On my way back to the dining room, I ran into Silena.

Just smile and sell it, Annabeth, I thought to myself.

"Oh, hi, Annabeth!" Silena greeted cheerily. "Guess we're the last ones in the dining room...that can't be good." She sighed dramatically.

"That's okay." I replied. "I'm not feeling very hungry tonight."

"Hmm...Could it be because you're self-conscious after what happened in Cabin 1?" She said slyly.

"How do you know that?!" I exploded.

"I was passing by and saw. Sorry." She blushed lightly.

"No harm done." I calmed down.

"So?" She poked me.

"So what?" I asked.

"Are you embarrassed?" Silena and I stopped walking. We were right in front of the door and here Silena was, interrogating me about something that meant absolutely nothing.

It _was_ nothing, right? But wasn't nothing something? If nothing was something, then...

Ugh. My brain was hurting for the first time in my life.

Silena giggled. "It's okay, Annabeth. We can talk about that after lights out." She winked and held open the door for me.

Like I said earlier, she wasn't as bad as I thought.

* * *

"Where were you?" Thalia asked, a smirk tugging at her lips. Silena and I had quickly received our food and were eating quietly.

"Nowhere." I replied smoothly.

"Oh, really?" Nico asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nico, go back to your table." I commanded.

"Fine, fine; hate on Nico." He scoffed and trudged back to his table. Gabriella Rodriguez was passing by and giggled. Maybe Nico _was_ getting somewhere with her.

I looked to Silena and saw her eating carefully, the way she always ate. She swallowed and blew a kiss to Beckendorf, who was sitting on the other side of the dining hall.

Okay, so she wasn't going to rat me out. That was good.

"Hey, guess what?" Rachel spoke up.

"Does it involve--?" Thalia began.

"No."

"Well then."

"It's about the physical challenge going on tonight." She whispered, leaning in close.

"Physical challenge? What's that?" Thalia asked with food in her mouth.

"Swallow please." Silena said.

Thalia followed orders and looked at Rachel expectantly. Silena and I followed suit.

"Whichever cabin wins the physical challenge gets to choose their curfew for the whole week." Rachel explained.

"Seriously?" I asked, in disbelief.

"Good gravy, we need to win this thing!" Thalia's eyes gleamed. "We cannot lose."

"Yeah, I know what the challenge is too!" Rachel whisper-exclaimed.

"Well, are you gonna tell us?" I asked sardonically.

"I was getting to that." She huffed. "It's hide-and-seek."

"Aww, I was hoping it would be something I would be good at." Silena sighed.

"Really? I was hoping it would be like Red Rover or something. I am AWESOME at that game." Thalia grinned.

"You can't play Red Rover in the dark, Thalia." I pointed out.

"Yeah, you can." She argued. "See--"

"Wait," Silena spoke up. "Does this mean we're playing hide-and-seek in the dark?"

"Pretty much." Rachel nodded.

"Oh, that's even better! I already know where I'm hiding." Thalia leaned back in her seat, her infamous smirk plastered on her face already.

"Hopefully we get a lot of time to hide." I said.

"Yeah." Silena nodded.

We all looked at each other, a fierce fire in our eyes.

Cabin 5 was ready to win this thing.

* * *

"Ready for the rules, campers?" Shawn announced.

"YEAH!"

It was 8:30 PM, and it was almost pitch-black. Our only light source was flashlights, but they weren't all that big.

Right after dinner, Shawn gathered us at the opening to the forest, along with a few other people who would be seeking. The seekers were the instructors at camp. There were two with Shawn, Maria and Tim.

"Remember: You can hide anywhere in the camp, anywhere at all! You can't let me, Maria, or Tim find you. Whichever person is the last one found, their cabin wins the special prize." Shawn explained.

"I'm ready to win this for Cabin 2!" Nico proclaimed. The other members of Cabin 2 cheered in response.

Thalia snorted. "Please. You will be the _first_ one found, my friend."

"Wanna bet?"

"Ye--!"

"Guys." Maria interrupted.

"Keep in mind that we know every inch of this camp. It'll be hard for any of you to fool us." Tim smiled slyly.

"Tim's right." Shawn nodded with a glint in his eyes.

"Well, it doesn't matter. You're all going down." Clarisse eyed every camper, mainly Thalia.

This got everyone going. Now the campers were getting in each other's faces. It was just a game of hide-and-seek, but everyone treated it like war.

"Ready to get your butt kicked, Wise Girl?" Someone whispered behind.

I didn't even have to turn around. "You wish, Seaweed Brain."

"We'll give you all two minutes to get to your hiding spots." Shawn spoke up loudly.

With that said, everyone trampled their way out of the gym like someone had just told them that the mall was giving everything away.

Some of the girls looked panicked because they had no idea where to hide. I saw Thalia sprint to the forest with Rachel close behind. Silena found Beckendorf and together they went to the lake.

I sneaked into the dining hall and went around back to the kitchen. I hid behind the long counter where the food was set out. Right now, there was nothing on it though.

I took a minute to breathe. I hoped I would be safe. No one else would ever think of coming here.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps. I held my breath.

"Annabeth?"

I jumped up. Percy. Grr...

"I was here first!" I protested.

"But I have nowhere else to go!" He moaned.

"Go hide with the animals." I hissed.

"Luke is already there." He pointed out.

"So? I'm here!" I countered.

"But you're my friend." Percy smirked and jumped behind the counter.

"Ugh, you're impossible!" I muttered something incomprehensible under my breath.

I knew he wouldn't leave. He would trail me like a moth because I was the light.

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" Percy asked.

I smacked him upside his head.

"Ow!" He whisper-yelled.

"Do you really think that's a compliment now?" I jeered, leaning in close so he could hear me.

Percy turned to look at me and didn't say anything. He just stared...and stared...and stared with those beautiful sea-green eyes of his...

He leaned closer. My heart was pulsing. I swore I could hear Thalia and Nico teasing us.

Then I snapped away at the last second. The Seaweed Brain...I wasn't that stupid.

Percy, on the other hand, almost fell on his face. I giggled.

"You're cute when you giggle like that." Percy muttered, crossing his arms.

I tried to not blush; fail. "Thanks..."

I thought I saw him smile a bit.

* * *

Minutes passed, but we didn't keep track of time.

Remember: You were never bored with a seaweed brain around. We talked about what classes we wanted to take during camp.

Percy hoped to take canoeing and marine biology. I wanted archery and canoeing. We also both wanted to try the rock-climbing wall in the gym. I told him that I would totally kick his butt and he agreed after a few protests.

"PERCABETH, COME OUT, PERCABETH!"

We gave each other a look. Were we caught?--WAIT A MINUTE.

What the heck was "Percabeth"?

I stood up slowly and Percy followed. Thalia stood in front of us looking smug as ever. Behind her were Shawn, Maria, and Tim.

"Who won?" Percy asked, confused.

"You both did." Maria smiled.

"So Cabin 5 and Cabin 1 both won?" I asked.

"Sadly, yes. It should've been just Cabin 5." Thalia sighed dramatically (like Silena did earlier today). "But at least we get to pick our curfew." she grinned and high-fived me.

"Well, where's everyone else?" Percy asked.

"Everyone is back in their cabins." Tim began. "Tomorrow, everyone starts classes so you might wanna get some sleep tonight."

"Classes start at 9:00. Breakfast is at 8:00." Shawn added.

"I will so be there for breakfast." Thalia jumped in.

Maria laughed. "Of course you will."

I walked back to my cabin with Thalia after saying good-bye to Seaweed Brain. Luckily, Thalia was too occupied with the fact that we won (sort of) to talk to me about...other matters.

But the other matters didn't matter.

Right?


	13. Chapter 13

**Longer chapter? I hope so. :) Anyways, I would've updated sooner but I hoped for more reviews. Shucks.**

**For the next chapter, I want 20 reviews! Not 19, 20. It can't be THAT hard. Just click the button. All you have to write is: Good or Great or Update**

**Any of those work! So get clickin'! --Alice**

* * *

13. I Go Canoeing At Lake Serenity

"So how was it, man?" Luke asked me after we had all showered and brushed our teeth.

We were all chilling on our own beds, but not ready to sleep yet. After all, we were the ones that decided to sleep at midnight. It was only about 11:47.

"How was what?" I replied.

"Dude, we heard that you and Annabeth were getting it on." Jake smirked.

I felt my face getting hot, but I tried to stay cool and play dumb about it. "What are you talking about?"

"Practically the whole camp knows now." Michael rolled his eyes.

"So you and Annabeth, huh?" Ethan spoke up.

I stayed silent. That seemed like the safest thing to do at the moment.

"You gonna ask her to the dance?" Luke asked.

"What dance?" So much for staying silent...

"It's on Friday." Michael interrupted. "There's always a big dance at the end of camp. It'll probably be in the gym or down by the lake."

"Oh, that dance." I muttered.

"Well, are you gonna ask her?" Jake urged. How was I supposed to answer this question? I was still fuzzy on the whole Rachel-Annabeth thing.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"If you're not going to, then I will." Luke grinned and leaned back, putting his arms behind his head.

"Seriously?" I stared.

He nodded. "Seriously."

"I heard a rumor that she likes you, man." Ethan nodded at Luke.

"I thought that was Thalia." Jake thought out loud.

"Really?" Luke seemed surprised. I was surprised, too. Where did people get these rumors from? Thalia never liked Luke...did she?

"No, it wasn't Thalia." Michael shook his head.

"Oh." Luke said simply. He sounded...disappointed? Did the weenie like Thalia? Oh, this was too good.

"I don't know if I should ask Rachel or Annabeth." I blurted. Great job, Jackson, I thought.

"So that's the problem." Jake grinned.

"I always thought Rachel was kinda cute." Ethan murmured.

"Ehh..." Michael added.

"Hey, whatever your heart tells you, man." Luke said to me.

"That was deep, man." Jake's eyes widened.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Go to sleep, Jake."

And so we all did.

* * *

The next morning was normal. We didn't talk anymore about the dance, and it seemed like whatever happened last night, didn't.

Michael led the way to the dining hall and we saw Cabin 4 and Cabin 2 sitting together at a big table.

Luke, Ethan, and Michael said that they would get everyone some breakfast. Jake strolled over to Katie Gardner and tried flirting with her. Katie rolled her eyes and Bianca started arguing with him. It went a little something like this:

"You are such a pig! Katie doesn't like you so leave her alone!"

"You got proof?"

"Katie?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you like him?"

"Err...no."

"See?"

"You so like me."

Katie was silent and Bianca was fuming.

I saw Juniper mouth to me, "Where's Grover?"

"I don't know."

She nodded and watched the door, hoping to see him come through it soon.

"Percy!" Tyson slapped me on the back.

I winced slightly. The big guy was strong. "Hey, Tyson."

"How's life for you?" He asked eagerly.

"Okay, I guess." I shrugged.

"Thalia wanted me to tell you something about Annabeth." Tyson grinned.

Immediately, I became more alert. "What is it? What happened to her?"

Tyson laughed. "Well--"

"Hey, friends!" Nico.

"Hi." I said. "Can you go away for like three seconds?"

"Why?" Nico asked.

I turned to Tyson. "Just tell me later, okay?"

He nodded.

* * *

I finished eating breakfast pretty quickly because I was excited to get to my first class.

Before we started eating, Chiron rattled off what class each cabin was going to first. Cabins 1 and 5 were canoeing, and Cabins 4 and 2 were doing outdoor survival. Cabin 3 split up; Grover, Travis, and Connor would be canoeing, while Malcolm and Will were going to outdoor survival.

I walked with Grover to Lake Serenity. I thought it was a really corny name for a lake, but it was a just a lake so I didn't really care all that much.

We talked about how our lives were in our cabins.

Grover became friends with Will and Malcolm. On the other hand, he made sure to keep his personal belongings with him and away from Travis and Connor. I told him that it didn't matter because they were really good pickpockets.

Next, Grover mentioned the dance and my head started spinning. I _really_ didn't wanna talk about this.

He told me that he and Juniper were already going together--of course--even though there weren't many details yet.

Then he asked me who I wanted to take.

"Uh..." I trailed off.

"Oh, I get it." He grinned. "Can't decide between Annabeth and Rachel, right?"

"Does everyone know this?" I moaned.

"Everyone except for Annabeth and Rachel." Grover replied.

Luckily, this conversation was closed because we arrived at the lake. The water appeared to be sparkling, but that was most likely because of the sun peeking out from behind the clouds.

Our canoeing instructor, Paula, told us to get all put on life jackets in case we accidentally fell out of the canoe. Then she told us that if we did fall out, we would have to swim back to shore by ourselves.

She gave us a crash course on how to steer the canoe and the proper way to paddle. It sounded easy enough.

I glanced over at Annabeth and I eventually caught her eye. She cocked her head to the side--which looked really cute--and turned away after a few seconds.

"All right, now I'm gonna pair everyone up, okay?" Paula checked her clipboard.

Darn it. I was hoping that we could choose our own partners. Maybe I would get lucky though, and not get paired up with Luke or Travis and Connor.

"When I call your names, head over there," Paula pointed to a spot where the canoes were docked. "And sit in a canoe."

Everyone nodded eagerly so Paula started naming off people. "Luke and Thalia, Travis and Connor, Grover and Michael, Jake and Rachel, Ethan and Silena, and Percy and Annabeth; get to the canoes!" She grinned broadly.

"Nice." I grinned at Annabeth.

She rolled her eyes at me and pushed me forward. "Let's go, Seaweed Brain."

* * *

As we walked down the beach, I observed the different pairs.

In the first canoe were Luke and Thalia and Thalia did not look happy.

"I don't get it, why--"

"Don't talk to me, Castellan unless you want your head ripped off of your body."

In the next canoe were Grover and Michael and they seemed to be getting along okay...until Michael accidentally whacked Grover in the back with an oar.

"OW!"

"Oh...sorry."

"Ugh, I can't stand up!" Grover was bent over, gritting his teeth and moaning in pain.

"Stop being a baby." Michael rolled his eyes.

Grover glared.

In the third canoe were Silena and Ethan. Silena sat in the front and straightened out her sundress. Ethan just stared in awe from the back. I thought I saw drool.

The next canoe was already floating out to the lake.

"Travis and Connor." I muttered.

Paula was standing on the end of the dock, telling them to remember how to steer. I don't think they were even listening.

The fifth canoe had Rachel and Jake. Rachel saw me passing by and waved. I waved back. Annabeth seemed to tense up.

"Okay, I'm taking the front." Annabeth announced when we reached our silver canoe. She climbing into the front and grabbed an oar. I responded by getting into the back and grabbing an identical-looking oar.

I heard canoes splashing into the lake and some people screaming. Paula had just pushed Rachel and Jake into the lake.

We were next.

"You guys ready?" Paula asked with a grin.

"Bring it on." I said confidently.

SPLASH! The canoe had touched water.

Suddenly, it seemed to get windier and we were slowly being pushed out into the middle of the lake.

"PERCY!"

"Huh?" I stared at Annabeth.

"Steer." She instructed.

I put my oar on the right side of the canoe and stroked it in a J-motion. We turned and were heading towards other canoes.

"AAAHHH!" Came the ear-splitting scream of Silena. "YOU GOT WATER ALL OVER MY DRESS!"

Ethan cringed. "S-Sorry, Silena."

"YEAH!!!" Travis and Connor seemed to be naturals at canoeing and were bumping into other canoes for fun. They laughed when the people inside got scared because the canoe wobbled.

Unfortunately, Paula didn't see any of this. She was too busy helping Ethan and Silena back to shore.

"Travis and Connor are headed towards us." Annabeth bit her lip. "Steer towards where Thalia and Luke are; they're the farthest away from them!"

I didn't hesitate. Together, we rowed towards Thalia and Luke, who seemed to be stranded under a tall bridge.

"Aww, Connor, we missed them!"

"It was your fault."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Annabeth, Percy, thank goodness!" Thalia cried when she saw us.

"How did you guys get stuck over here?" Annabeth asked.

"Captain Smarty Pants over here lost our oars." Thalia said angrily.

"It wasn't my fault!" Luke exclaimed, defending himself. "If you weren't so distracted with yelling at me all the time, this wouldn't have happened."

Thalia scoffed. "Excuse me, but--"

"Guys." I spoke up. "Let's just try to find a way to row you guys back to shore."

"Can we get in your canoe?" Thalia asked hopefully.

"I don't know if there's room..." Annabeth said.

"Sure, there is. Canoes are long." Thalia pointed out. She stood up in her and Luke's canoe, making it wobble.

"Thalia, sit down!" Luke ordered.

"Shut up, Luke!" She retorted.

"Thalia, just listen to Lu--" Annabeth started.

"Over my dead body."

"Just be careful because you might tip our--" I couldn't finish my sentence. Thalia stumbled into our canoe, causing me to fall out into the lake.

"Oh gosh...sorry." Thalia apologized with a giggle.

Annabeth laughed. "That's what you deserve."

"You know what?" I reached up to the edge of the canoe and grabbed the front edge so Annabeth would fall head-first into the lake.

She came back up a few minutes later and sprayed water at me. "You are so--!"

"What, what am I?" I countered.

She scooped up some water and threw it at my face. "There." She smirked.

I grinned and threw water back at her.

She started swimming towards the shore. "Catch me if you can, slowpoke!"

I swam after her, only behind by a few feet.

I wouldn't let her get away that easily.

* * *

**In character or not? I'd like to know! :)**

**This chapter is dedicated to Melissa (movystr2b). She is the best sister anyone could ask for! Read her story NOW. Go. Go on. Scram. Shoo. But first, review!**

**Oh, gods. Apollo, why?!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ta-da! Here's the next chapter!**

**It took a long time for this to finally be updated because of many reasons:**

**1) School**

**2) Laziness**

**Yeah, that was only two reasons. Er...**

**Anyways, if you haven't been keeping track, this chapter is in Annabeth's POV. The next chapter (which I already have typed up) is in Third Person POV. The story might seem like it's taking a long time for anything to happen, but trust me, I'm getting there! ;) Also, the chapters are starting to get longer if you haven't noticed.**

**My 75th reviewer will get a small part in the story. So review if you wanna get your shot at superstardom (not really)!**

**--screamattheskyx3**

* * *

14. I Become Friends with Rachel Dare

I was surprised that Paula didn't yell at me and Percy for...messing around.

After we dried off, our "punishment" was to sit on the beach and watch everyone else canoe, which wouldn't be that long. The class was ending in a few minutes, so some people were attempting to get back to shore anyway.

It was quiet again between us. I was used to it by now. It was always like this, but I liked it...in a way. Of course, I would never tell him that.

"So what class do you have next?" His voice kind of startled me. He swiveled around so he was facing me.

I shrugged. "Rachel knows. Why don't you ask her?"

"Okay, what's up with you and Rachel?" Percy looked me straight in the eyes.

"Nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing to me."

"It's nothing." I insisted.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"A hundred percent."

"Are you positive that you're positive?"

I laughed. "You're an idiot."

"Thanks. I try." He smiled wryly.

"Annabeth!"

I jumped. I sighed and stood up, brushing sand off of my Capri's.

"Was I interrupting something?" Thalia winked.

"Ye--"

"Not really." I said before Percy could say something stupid.

"Oh, okay." Thalia kicked some sand with her shoe. "We should get to our next class."

I nodded. I turned to Percy. "See ya."

"Bye." He smiled and waved, walking over to the dock to meet up with his cabin.

Thalia snickered.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. We have archery next."

"Awesome."

"Let's find Rachel and Silena. I'll get Rachel."

"Okay."

* * *

Archery was at the bottom of a hill, between the gym and the dining hall.

Joining us would be Cabin 2 and Bianca, Gabriella (who by now, we all called 'Gabby'), and Clarisse from Cabin 4.

The archery instructor was Tim and we all remembered him from the physical challenge last night. He was a great archer, and always managed to make his arrow land near the bullseye.

Tim arranged for every person to get a bow and three arrows. Then we all stood in a line to shoot. Clarisse was first, naturally.

He told Clarisse how to pull the string back and the correct way to put the arrow on the bow.

She wasn't nearly as good as Tim. One of her arrows stuck in the hay behind the boards, another made it on to the very edge, and the last one accidentally hit Tim in the butt. She muttered an apology and trudged to the back as the other kids stifled their laughter.

Next was Troy Brogan, and he took a long time. So everyone talked to pass the time.

Chris sat off to the side with Clarisse and they talked. Everyone thought they would be a good couple together. I shuddered at the thought of Clarisse being in a relationship.

Silena and Beckendorf sat at the top of the hill, holding hands and other romantic stuff. I think Silena was happy to finally spend time with him. If only I could have a relationship like that with...ugh, never mind.

Nico was still attempting to make Gabby his girlfriend and she almost accepted. That is, until Bianca interrupted. She seemed to be very protective of all her friends.

Troy finally shot his three arrows and he started chatting it up with Tyson. Tyson got along with everyone, which was something I could never do.

Thalia was eager to shoot next. She turned out to be amazing at archery. She never missed for any of her three shots. It always hit the bullseye and everyone was impressed, even Clarisse. Thalia did a little bow and high-fived every guy.

Chris went next and Clarisse sprang up to help him.

I sat towards the bottom of the hill and stared at the sky. There were cumulus clouds out, so that was a good sign.

I wondered what everyone else was doing...especially Per--uh...Luke. Yeah, Luke.

Lately, I wasn't sure how I felt about Luke. He seemed like a friend instead of a crush...no, maybe 'brother' was the right term.

"Hey."

I looked up to see what in the world could be blocking my sun. Rachel. "Hello." I replied monotonously.

She plopped down next to me and sighed. "I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Why do you hate me?

I hesitated. "Who said I did?"

She shrugged. "It's kind of obvious. You talk to me different than you would talk to..."

"Talk to who?" I demanded.

"Percy."

"Oh. Well..."

"Never mind him." Rachel waved her hand absentmindedly. "Why do you hate me?" Well, she was certainly straightforward.

"You can't prove that." I replied.

"Sure, I could. I'm not blind, you know." She sighed. "Remember when we were on the bus?"

I nodded tentatively.

"I saw how you would glare at me sometimes because I laughed at Percy's jokes or if I smiled at him." She confessed.

"Oh..." For the first time, I had nothing to say.

"So call me crazy, but I think you hate me because you're protective of him."

"What?! Psh, no; that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Why would I be protective of Percy?" I rambled.

"Because maybe you secretly like him." Rachel smiled slightly.

I gaped. "No! That's--!"

"C'mon, Annabeth. I noticed it the first day you arrived at Bridgeton Academy." She smiled again, this time teasingly. "You. Like. Him. A. Lot."

"No. I. Don't." I retorted, imitating her. How could she think that I liked Seaweed Brain? Yeah, right!

"Okay, I'm just saying." Rachel stood up and I did the same. I hadn't noticed it, but we'd been talking for a long time. "But can we at least try to be friends?"

I considered this for a moment. "Alright. Friends." We shook hands, sealing the deal.

* * *

Lunch was average. I had a hamburger, tater tots, and a Diet Coke.

I couldn't stop thinking about what Rachel had told me during archery.

_"Because maybe you secretly like him."_

Untrue. I would not let my week at camp turn into some fairytale book where I was the princess and Percy was--

Don't go there, Annabeth, I told myself.

"Okay, so our next class is at the animal house." Thalia pulled out a piece of paper. "And it's over here." She pointed to a small map in the corner of the paper.

"Do we get to hold bunnies?" Silena's eyes shimmered, hopeful.

We all laughed.

Thalia then told us that Cabin 3 would be with us, along with Percy and Jake from Cabin 1.

Rachel smiled at me as everyone was finishing lunch and soon Thalia and Silena joined in.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" I frowned.

"We have another class with Percy." Silena sighed, putting her hands over her heart. "How romantic for you!"

My face was getting red, and I was pretty sure it was noticeable.

"It's okay, Annabeth. We won't tease you anymore about it." Thalia assured.

"Really?"

"Nope! We just won't tease you about it until free time." She smirked.

I almost crawled under the table. But I didn't, because thankfully, lunch was ending and our next class would start very soon.

* * *

The animal house contained lots of rooms. I heard that there was a room for reptiles, a room for mammals, and another room for insects. I prayed that my class would be with the mammals or the reptiles.

I was not all that fond of insects. Usually, "insects" included "spiders".

We all crowded at the entrance, waiting for the teacher, Jennie. Travis and Connor were trying to peek through the tiny window by standing on each other's shoulders. They kept collapsing to the ground (of course). I thought I saw Katie smile at Travis.

Seaweed Brain gave me an encouraging smile and I saw Rachel giving me a thumbs-up out of the corner of my eye.

The door swung open, and everyone stepped back a few feet. An Asian-looking girl with black-brown hair motioned for us to enter.

We followed instructions and came to a hallway with three different paths to take. I knew that one of the paths would lead you to the mammals, and another one took you to the reptiles. The last one would take me (possibly) to the infirmary.

"Today, we're looking at..."

Please don't say insects, I pleaded in my mind.

"Insects!"

Some of the guys cheered.

Thalia shrugged as if to say, "Why not?"

Rachel nodded and Silena looked disappointed.

I, on the other hand, was ready to pass out at the sight of a spider.

Jennie led us into the insect room and the first thing I saw was a rectangular glass container with praying mantises.

I breathed slowly. So far, so good.

Jennie then had us sit on a soft, plush carpet. She sat in a rocking chair in front of us. I felt like I was in kindergarten.

Percy sat to my right, and to my left was Rachel. Thalia sat behind me and no one sat in front of me because I was in the front.

The next ten minutes were spent with us answering questions about insects and Jennie explaining facts about them by showing us pictures in a book. She also explained the difference between insects and arachnids.

I shuddered; arachnids. Insects weren't nearly as bad as arachnids.

"Alright, are you guys ready to look at some insects?" Jennie stood up and clapped her hands together.

"Just look?" Travis stood up simultaneously with Connor. "Do we get to hold them?"

"Sure, why not?" Jennie shrugged, walking over to the praying mantis area.

Everyone around me got up and followed her. I stayed sitting.

"Annabeth?"

I looked up. "What?"

"Why are you still sitting?"

"Because my foot fell asleep." I said lamely.

"For someone who's really smart, you can be really dumb sometimes." Percy rolled his eyes.

I stuck out my tongue.

"Come on. There's nothing to be scared of." He held out his hand.

I considered this for a moment. Then I grabbed Percy's hand and pulled him down.

"OOF!" He scrambled to his feet and I followed, laughing. "Why do you always do that??"

I shrugged, shoving my hands into the pockets of my orange jacket.

"Let's go." He gripped my hand tightly and basically dragged me to the praying mantises.

I forced myself to stare at them. "They're not that bad..." I murmured.

"See?" He nodded.

Soon after he said that, Thalia shoved one of those green things in my face. I shrieked.

"Ooh, sorry, Annabeth." She laughed apologetically.

I exhaled quite loudly, calming down.

"Afraid of insects?" Rachel asked.

I shook my head. "Not all."

"Spiders and praying mantises?"

"Uh-huh."

"Gotcha." Rachel was about to take her turn to hold the praying mantis when she turned around and smiled at us.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Why are you guys holding hands?" She giggled.

Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap.

I dropped his hand without even thinking about it.

I then resorted to putting my hands in my sweater pockets. It didn't feel as warm as Percy's ha--

Shut up, Annabeth, I told myself. Don't think that kind of stuff...

Rachel giggled again and walked off. Percy followed awkwardly. I rolled my eyes and walked up next to Silena. She smiled at me like she was hiding something.

I shrugged it off. It probably didn't mean anything.

I glanced at Seaweed Brain and saw Rachel whispering intently to him.

That probably didn't mean anything either.

After all, Rachel and I were...friends.

At least, I thought we were.

* * *

**Are Annabeth and Rachel really friends?**

**What do YOU think?**

**The next chapter will get updated sooner than this, promise!**

**If you're reading this, hi, Melissa!**

**GET WELL SOON! :D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for taking so long to update. I couldn't seem to get off my lazy butt to upload this to the document manager. But I just finished a lot of testing. But that doesn't mean I get to relax. I have lots of projects even though it's the end of the year and I'm so swamped with all this crappy work. I really don't care about reviews anymore, but they do make me happy. I won't put a number, however. I'm just gonna be happy if I finish this story. Which, I hope I will. There're a few more chapters left, so we're winding down to the big finish. Er, I hope. Anyways, thanks to all the people who have reviewed. You guys all deserve cookies! (If only I knew how to bake...)**

**Well, no more of my babbling. --Sky  
**

**"Why is a spoon and a fork together called a 'spork' when it could be called a 'foon'?" -Yours Truly  
**

* * *

15. I'm Thalia Grace, and Welcome to the Boardroom

"So what are we here for?" Bianca asked. She was seated at one of the big dining hall tables, along with her brother Nico, Tyson, Grover, Juniper, and Rachel.

"Beats me." Rachel sighed.

"Thalia called me here, but _she's_ not even here." Tyson spoke up.

"That's Thalia." Nico muttered.

Ironically, Thalia walked in at that moment, carrying a briefcase and wearing all black. But it wasn't her usual punk-style; it was more business-like.

Thalia sat in the only empty seat that was basically the "head" of the table.

"Thalia, what are you--?" Juniper started.

Thalia held up her hand to silence the girl. "I'm Thalia Grace, and welcome to the boardroom."

Grover stared at Thalia strangely. "Er, Thalia? This is the dining hall."

Thalia broke and sighed, exasperated. "I _know_ that, but there's no boardroom in this camp. This was the next best place."

"Still, what are you talking about?" Bianca asked.

"And why are you dressed up?" Tyson added.

"It's all very simple." Thalia said before Nico could make yet another comment.

"Well?" Nico inquired, getting irritated.

Thalia rolled her eyes and folded her hands. "We all know our friends, Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase, correct?"

"Where are you going with this?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Can you guys ask questions after my presentation?" Thalia grumbled.

Everyone murmured an agreement and let Thalia continue after verifying that they knew Percy and Annabeth. Really, it was a stupid question.

Of course, they knew Percy and Annabeth.

"Now, we also all know about the dance at the end of the week, correct?" Thalia asked, eyeing everyone.

Juniper nodded first, a glimmer in her eyes. "I'm so excited about that!"

"I think the whole idea is lame." Bianca interjected.

"You're just saying that 'cause you don't have a date." Nico smirked, folding his arms.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh. You want Jake Mason to ask you."

Bianca's jaw dropped. "How do you know?!"

"I'm your brother; how could I not know?"

Thalia slammed her hands on the table, making everyone jump back slightly. "Can you guys shut up for like, five minutes?"

The siblings nodded after a few moments of consideration.

"Anyways, I've overheard from Luke that Percy is torn between who to ask to the dance."

"You're talking to Luke?" Grover asked, astonished. "I thought you guys were enemies."

"You like him..." Tyson laughed.

"No!" Thalia cried. "I--!"

"I guess the rumors were true." Juniper giggled.

"What rumors?!" Thalia exploded. She shot up from her chair and shook Juniper quite violently. "What rumors, Juniper?!"

"Hey!" Grover pried Thalia's hands off of Juniper. "Don't hurt her! She's fragile."

Juniper smiled at Grover in thanks and squeezed his hand.

Thalia muttered something incomprehensible and slumped back into her chair.

"Back to the topic." Rachel sighed. "Percy's torn between two girls?"

Apparently, Thalia had recovered because she nodded and the glint in her eyes had returned. "It's you and Annabeth."

"ME?!" Rachel shrieked, her voice going shrill.

Nico nodded and Bianca nodded after him to assure her that it was 100% true.

"But--" The red-head protested.

"Give it up." Thalia put her hand in the air again to silence Rachel and it miraculously worked.

"How do you do that?" Tyson asked in awe.

"Do what?" Thalia stared at him in confusion.

"I think he means when you put your hand in the air and everyone shuts up." Juniper offered.

"Oh, that?" Thalia scoffed. "I'm just highly respected."

"No, you're not." Nico said in between fake coughs.

Thalia glared. "I thought you were supposed to shut up."

Nico grinned and pretended to zip his lips and throw the key away. This made Bianca smack his shoulder for his immaturity.

Rolling her eyes, Thalia continued. "Anyways, we can't have Percy ask Rachel."

"Why not?" Rachel pursed her lips.

"Because," Thalia sighed dramatically. "Percy totally likes Annabeth!"

"I thought you just said that he likes both of us." Rachel pointed out. She turned to the di Angelo siblings for support.

Bianca nodded immediately. Nico whistled casually and Bianca glared. He rolled his eyes and nodded.

"See?" Rachel gestured to the siblings.

Thalia huffed. "I was going to make you the main person in this mission."

"What do I do if I'm the main person?" Rachel shot back.

"I was getting to that." Thalia finished.

"What kind of a plan is this...exactly?" Grover asked slowly.

"To get the Seaweed Brain and Annabeth together." Thalia said with a 'duh-I-can't-believe-you-didn't-get-that-part-already' look.

"What do we do, though?" Tyson questioned.

"You guys have a lot of questions, don't you?" Thalia exhaled sharply and pulled out her briefcase.

"Well, you don't explain things very well." Nico reasoned.

"I thought--" Thalia started.

"It's been five minutes." Bianca noted with a sigh while Nico grinned and stuck his tongue out at Thalia.

"Fine, fine." Thalia threw her hands up in a 'whatever-I-could-care-less' gesture.

"So what do we have to do?" Juniper jumped in.

"Well, this is the part where Rachel comes in." Thalia smirked slightly at the girl.

"What?" Rachel asked, slightly irritated.

Thalia said nothing in reply and instead opened her briefcase. Everyone crowded around, trying to look inside. The punk-girl rifled around for quite a bit, until pulling out a piece of white paper with writing on it.

"Here." Thalia slapped it in front of Rachel and everyone started crowding around her instead.

"Milk, eggs, cereal--THIS IS YOUR SHOPPING LIST!" Rachel exclaimed in disbelief.

"Oops." Thalia snatched the paper back and crumpled it up, tossing it at Tyson and telling him to throw it away. "How did that get in there?" She muttered after Tyson put it in the recycling bin.

"Wanna tell us the real plan now?" Nico asked with a yawn.

"Yeah, it's getting pretty late. Curfew is in..." Bianca paused to check her watch. "Three minutes!"

"I don't have a curfew." Thalia shrugged.

"WE DO!" Everyone else--minus Rachel--objected.

"Sorry! Yeesh." Thalia tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I've got it!" Nico exclaimed.

"What?" Grover asked.

"I came up with a foolproof plan!" Nico pointed a finger in the air.

"Hurry it up." Bianca muttered.

"We'll have Rachel call Percy to talk to her tomorrow after lunch. Then we make sure Annabeth gets there. Tyson can do that."

"Yay!"

"Anyways, Annabeth will walk in on their conversation right as Rachel leans in to kiss Percy!" Nico finished proudly.

"That's the stupidest plan I have ever heard in my life." Rachel commented.

"Well, Annabeth is gonna get jealous of course. Then we hook them back up together before the dance. Like, we can have Percy apologize with flowers and stuff." Nico shrugged.

"That's not a bad plan..." Juniper said thoughtfully. "But won't Annabeth feel depressed?"

"Yeah." Nico replied.

"It's better than my plan." Thalia sighed.

"What was your plan?" Grover asked.

"Err...nothing." Thalia looked away.

"Well, as fun as this was, it's getting late." Bianca spoke up. "We'll all sit together during breakfast tomorrow and discuss this more."

"Good plan!" Tyson nodded furiously.

"Okay, let's just go to bed now." Rachel sighed deeply.

"Hm." Thalia murmured.

"What?" Rachel stared.

"Nothing, nothing." Thalia waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing at all..." 


	16. Chapter 16

16. I Beg Annabeth for Forgiveness

Breakfast wasn't ready until ten minutes, so I headed to the lake and sat on the beach.

It was getting a lot warmer now, and birds started coming back from the south. The water moved calmly, as did the breeze. It was really sunny today, so I stared down at the sand.

At some point, I started drawing random things in the sand with my finger.

First, I made a trident. I thought it turned out pretty good. I rubbed it away after a while.

Then I drew shapes. A circle, a rectangle, a square, a diamond, a trapezoid, a...blob.

This was getting boring.

I watched the lake. Personally, I thought the ocean was cooler. In the ocean, the waves would crash on to the shore and you could see the white foam. The sand would get kind of wet, which felt fun to play with.

I looked down at my right hand and saw initials: AC.

I frowned. Did I write that? My hand had a mind of its own sometimes. But what did 'AC' stand for?

The only person who had a name that started with an 'A' that I knew was Annabeth-

Oh.

'AC'-Annabeth Chase; duh.

Now I felt really stupid.

Annabeth...her name just made me feel all...warm inside. Was that a good thing? I was trying to figure that out.

I sighed.

"What's with the sighing?"

I flinched, slightly startled. "Annabeth?"

"No, I'm Thalia." She replied dryly.

I rolled my eyes. "Hi, Thalia."

"Hey." Annabeth said, trying to imitate Thalia's voice.

I chuckled, "Epic fail."

"Thanks." She laughed. That warm feeling came back into the pit of my stomach again. I pushed it back down.

"So, uh, today's Wednesday..." I started slowly.

"Yeah,"

"And you know, Friday is two days away..." I continued nervously.

"Uh-huh..."

I couldn't believe I was actually gonna do it. I was about to ask Annabeth to the dance...

"Do you-?"

"Annabeth!"

We both turned our heads simultaneously. It was Silena Beauregard. She looked...different. Her clothes didn't match, her hair wasn't straightened or curled, it was just...there, and she had absolutely no make-up on.

I knew that Annabeth didn't wear make-up...but it wasn't like she needed it.

"Hey, Silena. What's up?" Annabeth stood up, brushing sand off of her shorts.

"Oh, was I interrupting something?" Silena giggled.

"No, not really." I sighed lightly.

"Let's go talk at breakfast." Annabeth suggested. "Bye, Percy." She waved.

I smiled back. Once she and Silena were far away enough, I groaned loudly.

I had missed my chance to ask Annabeth...and who knew if Luke was planning to ask her?

Love was hard.

* * *

"Alright." Thalia said once the whole 'group' was gathered at a table in a far corner of the dining hall. She did a quick attendance of who was present.

The di Angelo siblings: Check.

Miss Rachel Elizabeth Dare: Check.

Grover and Juniper: Check and check.

Tyson: ?

Where was Tyson?

"Where's Tyson?" Thalia asked.

"I didn't see him after I left." Nico said.

"Well-"

"Hey, guys! I'm here to talk about the plan to get Percy-" Rachel slapped a hand over Tyson's big, fat mouth and shoved him into a seat.

"Shh! No one is supposed to know!" She hissed.

"Oh. Sorry." He smiled sheepishly.

"Let's continue from last night." Thalia announced, getting back on topic. "Nico, please explain your plan again."

"Huh?" Nico blinked. "I don't, uh...really remember my plan."

"Figures he doesn't remember his own plan..." Bianca muttered, looking at her nails.

"Hey!" Nico turned to his older sister and glowered. "Do you remember it?"

"Well, no. It was late and I was tired. Do you expect me to remember it?"

"You could show some appreciation, you know."

"Yeah? Well, I'm not gonna."

"...You're mean to me."

"I'm your older sister."

"So?"

"It's in my job description."

"No, it's not!"

"Yeah, it is."

"Prove it."

"Shut up, both of you!" Thalia slammed her hands on the table, making the empty cups and silverware shake slightly.

The di Angelo siblings made faces, but shut up.

"I remember the plan." Juniper spoke up in her quiet voice.

"Good; tell us." Rachel said.

"I think Nico said something about you and Percy kissing." Grover's girlfriend said directly to the red-head.

"Oh...yeah." Rachel replied, looking at Percy-who was sitting across the room-awkwardly.

"Are we going with that plan?" Grover asked the whole group."

"Yes." Thalia said firmly. "It's the most intelligent thing Nico's ever said."

"Yes!" Nico cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

"How the heck is the fact that I have to kiss him 'intelligent'?" Rachel shrieked.

Thalia shrugged. "Beats me. The plan is good, though."

"So, we're going with it?" Bianca asked carefully.

"Looks like we are." Grover replied.

"So I have to get Annabeth to wherever Rachel takes Percy after lunch, right?" Tyson asked out of the blue.

"Precisely." Thalia nodded. Then she looked at her comrades. "Uh, Rachel? Where are you taking Percy?"

"How should I know?" She grumbled.

"Take him to the field behind the archery targets." Juniper suggested. "I saw Silena and Beckendorf there. It seems like a romantic setting." She smiled at Grover and he blushed.

"Great idea, Juniper!" Thalia praised. "Rachel-"

"I know, I know!" She threw her hands in the air and leaned back in her chair. "This is just going to be fabulous."

"It should be." Nico smirked. "Bianca, do you have your camera with you?"

"Yeah, but you're not touching it." Bianca wrinkled her nose. "You would break it."

"I'm gonna pretend like you just complimented me."

"Why in the world would I compliment you?"

"Shut up."

"You-"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" Thalia shouted. Unfortunately for Thalia, her shout was quite louder than expected. Everyone in the dining hall directed their eyes on the group.

"Uh...sorry." Thalia blushed.

Rachel rolled her eyes. Tyson was making a thinking face and scheming a plan on how to get Annabeth to follow him to the hill. Bianca and Nico argued silently and Grover and Juniper spoke in hushed tones.

All was as it should've been.

Now all that was left to do was to succeed in Nico's plan...

* * *

After breakfast, I had archery classes with Cabin 4, Grover, and the Stoll Brothers.

Annabeth told me that it was easy, but that was her. She was like, perfect at everything. You would think that I completely missed the target, and that was true. I did miss the target, but not the way most people thought.

The first arrow I shot flew all the way into the field behind the targets. I, of course, had to retrieve it. I stooped into the grass and plucked the arrow out carefully.

"Come on, help me out here!"

"No!"

That sounded like Travis and Connor. I hid behind some leafy bushes-even though all bushes were leafy-and held my breath.

"Why not?" Travis's voice.

"Ask her yourself. Don't be chicken!" Connor's voice.

"I'm not chicken!" Travis.

"Then prove it by asking her yourself." Connor.

"I'm just...too lazy." Travis.

"Right." Connor-probably smirking or something.

"Well, what if she rejects me to my face?"

"Wow, Travis. I've never seen you like this before."

"Seen me like what?"

"Nervous. It's kinda funny. I should record this."

"Ah, shut up."

"I'll shut up when you ask Katie."

A groan could be heard from Travis. Realizing that it had been too long for me to just get an arrow, I stepped back a few feet and sprinted back to the hill.

"What took you so long?" Grover asked with Juniper at his side.

"Ah, it was really stuck in the grass." I lied. I eyed Juniper and saw her fidgeting. I didn't know what was on her mind, but it wasn't like I needed to know.

I trudged to the top of the hill and plopped down onto the freshly-cut grass. The smell of spring. That sounded really cheesy.

At some point, Travis and Connor melded back with the group and acted like they were there all along. It was weird seeing Travis like this. He was usually always plotting some crazy prank on someone. For all I knew, I could be next.

I saw Travis sigh wistfully at Katie. He probably knew that Jake Mason was after her, too. And of course, who did the girls always pick?

Jake Mason.

In some ways, I felt sorry for Travis. He thought that he had no chance with Katie whatsoever. Either way, Katie didn't seem interested in guys. If not, she was really good at hiding it.

But then I didn't feel bad for Travis. The real Travis would have the guts to ask Katie to the dance. Guys weren't supposed to act scared. He had to just stand up to Katie and ask her flat out. Holding it off wouldn't help the situation easier.

Then it dawned on me.

I really should be taking my own advice.

* * *

Today for lunch, we had a cook-out near the archery hill. There were hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and steaks. I had a hamburger and a cheeseburger and Connor sneaked me a Coke (he smuggled a bunch into camp).

For most of the time, I talked to Grover and Nico. They seemed to be intent on keeping me occupied with conversation. I noticed Tyson talking to Annabeth and that got me wondering: What could he possibly be talking to her about?

I ignored it after a while, though. Soon after that, Thalia joined the bunch and asked me a bunch of random questions like I was in an interrogation scene.

Towards the end of lunch, most people had finished and were talking or playing Frisbee or some kind of game. Thalia patted me on the back and muttered "Good luck," but I had no idea what she was talking about. Nico walked away casually and Grover left me for Juniper.

Then Rachel showed up. "Hey, Percy."

I smiled. "Hey."

"I need to talk to you about something." She said, not looking me in the eye. She also seemed to be playing with her fingers.

"Uh..." I looked at our friends, who were all doing something obviously. Then I saw Annabeth talking to Katie. "Sure."

"But not here." Rachel took my hand and led me to a distant spot in the field behind the archery class. Strangely enough, there were two fairly-sized rocks. I brushed dirt off of mine and motioned for Rachel to do the same. We sat down simultaneously.

"Okay, what's up?" I asked.

"Well..." Rachel trailed off, looking back at the cook-out. She looked like she was expecting someone to come.

"Are you looking for someone?" I questioned.

"Oh, no, no, no." She replied. "Why would I be?"

"You just kind of look like it." I shrugged, staring at the clear, blue sky dotted with cotton-candy clouds.

Rachel paused for a long time. Then she cleared her throat and slightly leaned towards me. "Percy, I have to tell you something."

"W-?"

I couldn't finish my sentence because Rachel cut me off with a kiss. I sat there on my rock, shocked. Rachel was kissing me?

But I felt no sparks.

The next thing I heard was the sound of someone running away at full-speed. I pulled away from Rachel and tried to catch a glimpse of the person.

Blonde, curly hair...

Oh, no. It couldn't be...but it was.

Across from me, Rachel sprang up from her rock and sprinted across the field. Oh, great. Lots of girls were running away from me today.

I had the feeling that I would need to have a long talk with Thalia. I had a few questions: 1) Why did Rachel kiss me? 2) Why was Annabeth running away?

* * *

After lunch was free time for everyone. Some people went canoeing, Grover and Juniper went for a nature walk, Rachel was avoiding me, and Annabeth was nowhere to be seen. Most people were in the gym, dribbling basketballs, running around, and trying the rock climbing wall.

It seemed pretty cool, but I wasn't focused on that. I spotted Thalia in line to try the rock climbing wall. I ran up to her and dragged her right out of the line.

"Hey, what was that for?" She snapped. "I was waiting forever! It was my turn ne-!"

"I need to talk to you." I demanded.

"Well-"

"_Talk_, talk."

"Oh." Thalia seemed to understand my sense of urgency and pulled me to the top of the bleachers. She stared at the rock climbing wall and sighed, probably thinking that she would hopefully try it another time.

"It's-"

"About Rachel and Annabeth?" She asked.

"How did you know?" I asked carefully.

"Uh...lucky guess?" Thalia laughed nervously. "Anyways, go on. Talk."

I explained the whole story about how Rachel wanted to tell me something important but ended up kissing me. Then I added the part where I saw Annabeth running away. While I was doing this, Thalia nodded at everything like she knew about all of this.

"Okay, I see now." She sighed.

"You do?" I asked, uncertainty creeping into my voice.

Thalia nodded. "The solution is this: Apologize to Annabeth."

"But what about Rachel?" I asked.

"She's fine." Thalia reassured me.

"She is?"

"Absolutely."

"Then why is she ignoring me?" I frowned.

"That...is an excellent question." Thalia matched my frown and tapped her chin in thought. "I'd just go with apologizing to Annabeth. Trust me, it'll fix everything." She drew her arms out at the word 'everything'.

"Wait, I have another question."

"What?" Her tone was slightly irritated.

"What do I have to apologize for?"

"Boys." Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" I cried.

Thalia shrugged. "Just apologize with some...flowers or something. Get her some flowers she would like." She suggested.

"What kind of flowers does she like?" I wondered aloud.

"Who knows?" Thalia muttered. "Just don't get her roses or anything like that. I know Annabeth thinks that roses are cliché and overused."

"Okay..." I nodded slowly. "I think I know who can help, though." I stood up and jumped off of the bleachers.

"And if that doesn't work, try writing her apology notes!" Thalia smiled half-heartedly.

"Thanks." I said dryly.

"Don't mention it." She grinned now.

I sighed and pushed open one of the gym doors. The bright sunlight hit me when I stepped out; it was blinding, really. I turned right to the forest. I knew Grover and Juniper were in there somewhere.

I just didn't know _where_.

And that wasn't good because I needed Juniper's help. I didn't want to lose Annabeth as a friend. Maybe...even something more? Who knew if we were even going to get to that stage when I was in this...predicament?

I began my trek into the forest. It was your average forest. I almost expected to find Snow White sprawled across the forest floor with woodland animals surrounding her. I was somewhere in the middle of the forest now and no Snow White.

Hearing voices, I hid behind a thick oak tree.

"We could've gotten lost!"

"But we didn't..."

"Next time, make sure you bring a map, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll remember that."

I stepped out from behind my tree and almost ran into Grover and Juniper. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Perce." Grover greeted cheerily.

"Hi, Percy." Juniper smiled.

"I need your guys' help." I stated.

"Oh?" They shared a look that probably meant something, but I didn't know what.

"What is it?" Juniper asked.

"What kind of flowers do you think Annabeth would like?" I blurted.

"Flowers?" Grover seemed to be smiling with his eyes.

I nodded.

"Hold on." Juniper turned around the corner before Grover could stop her.

"She better not get lost..." He muttered. I hoped that he would tell that story soon.

In a matter of a few moments, Juniper appeared in front of us with a long branch with flowers hanging on it. They were a pure pink color and they looked like hearts.

"These are Bleeding Heart flowers." She held them out to me and I took them. "Any girl would be lucky to get those flowers."

"Wow, thanks." I murmured.

"Sure thing."

"Juniper, do Bleeding Heart flowers grow here?" Grover asked.

"I just found them." Juniper shrugged. She and Grover then waved good-bye to me. I thought I saw Juniper wink at me. Very mysterious...

I made my way out of the forest and soon found myself in front of Cabin 5. I looked behind me to make sure no one could see what I was doing. I slowly opened the door and shut it behind me.

"Percy?"

I jumped. "I-"

"It's okay." It was then I realized the girl talking was Silena, not Annabeth. "What are you doing here, though?"

"Uh..."

She skipped over to me and took the flowers out of my hand. "Oh, these are lovely..." Silena smiled. "Where did you get them?"

"From a friend." I said honestly. "They're for...Annabeth."

"Are you finally confessing your love for her?" Silena giggled.

"N-No!" I stammered. "I just need to apologize for something I did."

"Oh, that's why Annabeth looked so depressed..." Silena murmured thoughtfully.

"What?"

"Nothing." Silena smiled again. "I'll tell Annabeth that you sent them."

"Okay, thanks." I started heading for the door. As I stepped outside, I heard Silena say to herself:

"I wonder if he knows what these mean..." She giggled.

* * *

Later, during dinner, I sat with my cabin because my other friends seemed to be with Annabeth.

Before, I had tried talking to her. It went a little something like this:

"Annabeth, I'm sorry! I don't know what I did-"

A glare.

"If you would just talk and tell me what I did, maybe I would understand."

This time, she threw me a look that said, loud and clear, 'You-wouldn't-understand-at-all-because-you're-such-a-Seaweed-Brain'.

I wasn't even sure if she had received the flowers either. If she did, she wasn't showing any sign that I was forgiven.

"What did you do to her?" Ethan poked me in my arm.

"Nothing." I glared at the walls.

"Doesn't seem like nothing." Luke added.

"Yeah, c'mon, just tell us! We're all friends here." Jake threw an arm around my shoulders.

I said nothing.

"You know, I could still ask Annabeth to that dance thing." Luke piped up. "Since she's mad at you, she's available."

I glared. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, but I would." Luke smirked evilly. Darn him.

"So tell us, Percy." Michael urged.

Reluctantly, I re-told my story. I told them exactly what I had told Thalia in the gym, about how Rachel just kissed me and then Annabeth ran away. I was still confused about why Rachel kissed me and why Annabeth would be mad. It didn't add up. I explained this to the guys and they all nodded knowingly.

Why was it that I could never understand?

"I see what's going on here now." Luke glanced at Thalia who was sitting three tables away with Annabeth. She caught him looking at her and glared fiercely.

"Well, can someone please tell me?" I asked impatiently.

"No, you should figure it out yourself." Ethan decided.

"Yeah." Michael munched on a brownie.

"Thanks a lot, guys." I said wryly.

"Well, you better figure it out and do something about it 'cause Friday is almost here." Jake pointed out.

"I know." I snuck a glance at Annabeth who hadn't touched anything on her plate. What in the world could she be so upset about? I obviously didn't know.

But I would have to find out soon.

And I was pretty sure of where to start.

* * *

**If I'm correct, then the dance is the day after tomorrow, right? Only a few more chapters. Sorry for the really late update. Usually, that's not me, but I got absorbed in other things. Ugh, why are you so difficult, Life?**

**Anyways, leave a review like always. More reviews mean quicker updates! :) If you read this author's note, put the word "panda" in your review somewhere. Don't ask. Just do it.**

**-Sky  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**Oh my gods, it's an update! -heroic fanfare plays-**

**Yeah, this is REALLY overdue. It's been almost two months. Sorry about that, folks. My computer busted. It was really bad. It took a while to fix. But in the end, I got a new computer. Luckily, I had all of my documents. Unfortunately, I was going through a small writer's block with all of my stories. Yeah, it's a pathetic excuse, I know. But thankfully, I didn't want to leave my first multi-chapter story in the recycling bin. Sorry if this chapter isn't as well-written as the others. I haven't worked on this in so long so please tell me if they're all in character and such. I'm predicting maybe three, four more chapters until the end.**

**Thanks to everyone who's been sticking through with TGP since the start! You know who you are. :) Hopefully, I don't disappoint with this brand new chapter. Reviews are greatly appreciated as usual and also please point out any spelling mistakes. I didn't check this through very well. Hehe.  
**

*****Also to answer BriBri's question, yes, Annabeth's pet peeve is Percy. Haha.**

**Why do I always talk so much? xD**

**Enjoy!**

**-Sky (If you read this entire Author's Note, put a smiley face in your review. :)  
**

* * *

17. I Get Some Answers, Kind of

The next morning, all classes were cancelled due to this really big thunderstorm. It seemed to come out of nowhere.

All of the cabins had to report to the gym to start preparing for the dance tomorrow. Most people were excited, but I think the guys just wanted to have balloon sword fights.

Before everyone got to work, Shawn told us that we would need some people to make food as well. For the dance, the entire ninth grade from Bridgeton Academy would be coming in to fill up the space in the gym since it was, well...huge. And a small group of people in a huge gym would definitely be awkward.

Cabins 4 and 3 (minus Bianca, Clarisse, and the Stoll brothers) volunteered to do this. Chiron decided that this was enough people on the kitchen staff.

The rest of us began to work on the lights, sound systems, and other decorations that would completely transform the gym.

Clarisse and I were hanging streamers. She was on a ladder, while I handed her multi-colored streamers cut to the right size.

"So, why are you all mope-y these days?" She asked as I handed her a blue streamer.

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently.

"Stop acting, Princess." I hated that nickname. It's about time I came up with a special name for her.

"No, I don't think I do." I retorted, playing dumb-which I don't do often because frankly, it's pretty hard for me.

"You're always just staring at Jackson from across the room with this depressing and angry face. It's both pitiful and disgusting at the same time." Clarisse pinned up a few streamers at a time and climbed down. She moved the ladder a few feet to the right and I followed her with my bundle of streamers.

"Oh, was I? I think I was just making facial expressions." I said dismissively.

"Yeah, sure. I'll buy that." She rolled her eyes and grabbed a streamer out of my hand. "The day you resort to letting a boy break your heart is the day you lose what's important."

"And what's that?" I asked.

"Your dignity."

I pondered this for a moment until I realized that Clarisse was right for once. "You're...right."

"I know I'm right." She stated arrogantly.

"Uh, I never thought I would say this, but...thanks." I murmured awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say.

"Whatever." Clarisse said with her back turned to me like she didn't care.

* * *

It was long and hard, but the gym was finally looking like a dance.

I didn't think any of the guys would ever start pitching in and helping after Travis and Connor started this huge balloon war.

It took a good half-hour to break them up and pick up all of the deflated balloons from the ground. There must have been at least a hundred. I'm pretty sure I was missing a lot, though.

Bianca took her brother to a corner and said some very...colorful words. Probably something about "being immature and playing around with balloons." That was Nico's sister being nice. I couldn't help smiling watching Nico roll his eyes and pretend to puke while Bianca was talking.

As I helped some girls get the ladder back in the supply closet, I caught a glimpse of Percy talking to Thalia again. What could possibly be so important that he wouldn't even help set up or clean up?

Percy Jackson was just an insolent, lazy, good-for-nothing, selfish, caring, sweet-oh, great, Annabeth. Look what you're saying now. Sometimes my brain had its own brain, if that made any sense at all.

"Annabeth!"

I blinked hard. Was someone calling my name? I looked up. "Hey, Luke."

"Why so down?" Luke asked with concern etched on his face.

"It's nothing. I'm just tired from working." I lied.

"Yeah, putting up streamers can be pretty hard work." He said with a grin.

I blushed.

"So about that dance tomorrow,"

"What about it?" I asked, not getting what he meant.

"You don't have a date, right?" Luke inquired.

I hesitated. "No."

"Then we should go together." He finished with a smile.

For some reason, I wasn't as happy as I should've been. Luke was popular. Luke was attractive. Luke was nice and funny and sweet. But Luke wasn't..._him_.

Still, I didn't want to look all alone.

"Annabeth?" Luke put a hand on my shoulder. It felt warm and comforting.

"Oh, uh, sure. I'll go to the dance with you."

"That's great!" Luke said, suddenly enveloping me in a surprise hug. I didn't know what else to do, so I did the human thing and hugged him back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Percy staring at us looking hurt and confused.

But it was probably the light.

* * *

Around lunchtime, all of the campers filed themselves into the dining hall, expecting to get some well-earned lunch. It didn't seem like that would be happening anytime soon.

There was a trail of smoke coming from the kitchen, followed by some girlish screams. People started sitting down at their usual tables, hoping there would be food to eat.

A few people (Tyson, Silena, Bianca, Thalia, Rachel, Percy, and me) went into the kitchen to investigate.

"Where's Charlie?" Silena demanded once inside, her eyes flaring. She sure was protective of Beckendorf. See, in the middle of decorating, Beckendorf apparently left to go work in the kitchen.

There was so much smoke we couldn't even see. Lots of people started coughing and we saw Chiron, Grover, Juniper, Beckendorf, and the rest of the kitchen staff emerge from the smoke.

Silena jumped into Beckendorf's arms, making him blush.

"What happened in here?" Thalia asked Chiron.

"Ah, it appears we had a slight kitchen mishap." Chiron chuckled.

"How slight?" I asked.

"Let's just say that Grovers don't cook." Grover said sheepishly.

Juniper patted his back.

Shawn appeared behind us with a fire extinguisher. "Do we still need this?"

"I don't think so." Bianca said.

"Thankfully, we managed to salvage most of the food." Will spoke up while taking something out of the oven.

"Let's eat!" Tyson grinned and clapped his hands together.

"Not now, buddy." Percy put a hand on his shoulder as Tyson's face fell.

"We should get back out there." Rachel jerked a thumb in the direction of the dining hall.

Without missing a beat, Bianca bolted out of the kitchen prepared for whatever Nico may be doing. Katie, Malerie, and Gabriella all followed suit.

"All right, campers." Shawn clapped once. "Clear out if you want lunch."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Percy muttered, causing a few people to laugh.

"Coming, Annabeth?" Rachel looked at me. I realized that I was the last one standing in the kitchen.

"Oh, yeah." I followed her outside where Chiron was telling the campers what a great job we did in preparing for the dance. Someone asked about what happened in the kitchen and Grover pulled his Rasta cap over his eyes, hoping no one would suspect.

"Hey, I need to talk to you." Rachel grabbed my arm and practically dragged me outside. We stopped a few feet away from the dining hall. When she let go of my arm, I had to rub it a little. The girl had a strong grip.

"What?" I asked irritably.

"So I'm just gonna get straight to the point." Rachel folded her arms.

I nodded, signaling her to go.

"Well, a few days ago, you saw Percy and me kissing." She said awkwardly. I blinked, remembering. Was she trying to get me mad all over again?

"Yeah, what about it?" I kicked a rock with my shoe.

She took a deep breath. "I'm gonna tell you the truth. The kiss was planned." I was about to ask her what the heck she was talking about, but she didn't let me speak. "See, Thalia was plotting to get you and Percy together. The plan was simple. You would see me and Percy kissing and get jealous. Then Percy would try to apologize to you and possibly confess, but that part didn't work out so well. And I probably screwed the whole thing up now by telling you, so-"

"What do you mean by confess?" I asked suddenly.

Rachel rubbed her arms. "Oh, well, you know, he kind of, sort of likes you, kind of."

I stared at her. She sure knew how to make me confused.

Rachel sighed, exasperated. "Percy likes you. He was supposed to keep apologizing to you and tell you all the things I just told you. Then you guys would be together." She paused. "At least, that's what Thalia said.

I almost laughed. Percy liked me? Like in the more-than-friends way? She couldn't be serious. "Very funny, Rachel." I started making my way back inside.

"If you don't believe me, ask Percy."

I froze with my hand almost to the door.

"You need to talk to him. How else will you get the truth?"

I contemplated her idea. It wasn't bad. But it wasn't good, either. Yeah, I would just walk up to Percy and say, "Hey, Percy, I was just wondering if the kiss between you and Rachel was real and if you liked me in the more-than-friends way."

I ignored the rest of whatever Rachel was saying and made my way into the dining hall.

* * *

**Again, reviews are appreciated. The more reviews I get, the faster I update. Just to let you know...(;**


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